ROME (AP) — Italy's new premier was facing his first confidence votes in Parliament on Tuesday for a new government that mirrors that of his predecessor and was cobbled together in near-record time after Matteo Renzi's humiliating resignation.

Premier Paolo Gentiloni is outlining his agenda before Parliament's two chambers, followed by confidence votes late Tuesday and Wednesday. The aim is to have a government in place before Gentiloni heads to Brussels on Thursday for a European Council summit.

The anti-EU Northern League and the populist 5-Star Movement have said they'll abstain from the votes to protest Gentiloni's "photocopied" Cabinet. Opposition politicians say his cabinet choices ignore the results of the Dec. 4 referendum, in which Italians overwhelmingly rejected Renzi's reforms.

Many of Renzi's ministers kept their jobs: Finance Minister Carlo Padoan, Defense Minister Roberta Pinotti as well as the ministers of justice, health, infrastructure and culture are among those remaining in Gentiloni's government.

Angelino Alfano is shifting from being interior minister to foreign minister — a key job given Italy's 2017 commitments hosting the Group of 7 in May and world leaders in March to mark the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, one of the founding treaties of the European Union.

The opposition is particularly irked that Renzi's reforms minister, who had promised to leave politics if the referendum failed, was named an undersecretary in Gentiloni's office.

Gentiloni, who served as foreign minister in Renzi's government, said his cabinet will continue the "innovations" charted by Renzi, including drafting new electoral rules so Italians can vote in their first general election since 2008.

Opposition parties have clamored for an early election, but the current law has one set of rules for the Senate and another for the lower Chamber of Deputies.

After accepting the premiership on Monday, Gentiloni said his main goals are to boost economic growth in the south and employment rates for young Italians, who overwhelmingly voted "no" in the referendum. Youth unemployment hoovers at around 36 percent nationally, with the rate nearing 50 percent in the south.

This version corrects Gentiloni's title to premier, not premier-elect.