Despite pressure from the Italian government for greater flexibility, invoked in particular by Minister Crosetto, the European Union is not making discounts on the stability pact, suspended due to the Covid pandemic. “We decided to suspend the rules of the stability pact on March 17, 2020, after the declaration of the pandemic. We easily extended them in 2021, with some discussions in 2022, with many discussions in 2023. We will not extend them in 2024”, announced EU Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni, who met with the press on the sidelines of the Ambrosetti Forum. in Cernobio.
“We have to find – Gentiloni explained – by the end of the year an agreement on fiscal rules, on the stability and growth pact. I am convinced that the governments are working on the basis of the commission’s proposal and I am optimistic, if necessary, that an agreement can be reached by the end of the year. I also have confidence in the work that the Spanish rotating presidency will do and is doing”.
According to the former Italian Prime Minister “the lack of agreement and, therefore, a return to the previous situation, on the one hand, would highlight the difficulties of the previous rules. We already talked about this two or three years ago, about the fact that these rules, although they have elements that are certainly useful, positive and to be confirmed, have not been able to promote growth or substantially reduce the debt, so proposing them again would not be certainly be ideal. At the same time – Gentiloni recalls again – President Christine Lagarde frequently reminds us that reaching this agreement is also fundamental in the overall assessment that the ECB makes of the market situation and I believe that this is also one of the additional reasons why we need to work with great spirit of responsibility to find an understanding”.
Source: IL Tempo
Emma Fitzgerald is an accomplished political journalist and author at The Nation View. With a background in political science and international relations, she has a deep understanding of the political landscape and the forces that shape it.
