RIMINI (ITALPRESS) – “Is Europe absent? To the four crises — the pandemic, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the change of energy model and inflation — all in all it has given a fairly strong response.” This was said by European Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni at the Rimini Meeting. “I give just two examples: the first is these famous Eurobonds, the issues of common European debt. If you talked a little bit with a smile on your face for about 20 years, sure, it took a pandemic, but we made them.” The second example, Gentiloni added, “is the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which saw an insufficient European response in terms of diplomatic capacity, however, extraordinary as unity among European countries.” Putin “was convinced that he could count on a weak and divided European Union. “For Gentiloni, “to bet on Europe and European sovereignty is absolutely not to downgrade the role of a country like Italy, on the contrary: I think that true patriots are also true pro-Europeans. We cannot be part-time Europeanists. “When I hear the Mameli anthem, when I see our athletes win at the Olympics, when I see a tricolor I sincerely get moved and at the same time I think we need more Europe. The real patriots today are Europeans,” he added. “The process of making decisions at the European level is quite exhausting, compromises are necessary. To make a compromise you have to take into account both different political-cultural inspirations and national interests. It’s a great school of democracy and compromise, but in the end decisions are made,” Gentiloni stressed. “All in all, this wonderful experiment of the European Union has worked, let’s not spit on the plate we have built over these decades because it is a machine of democracy, freedom and peace that works,” he continued.”Asking member countries to increase their contributions is one of the most unpopular things the European Union can do: what we should do is gradually put ourselves in a position to have a single ‘treasury,'” the European commissioner explained. “If we think we’re going to go ahead with the 35-member European Union without taking steps toward a European treasury, in my opinion we’re deluding ourselves,” he stressed. “If the European Union wants to stand in the changing times, it has to increase its ambition. More strength to the European Union also means more strength to its ability to expand democracy and freedom,” Gentiloni added.On the sidelines of the Meeting, the former prime minister responded to questions from journalists asking him to comment on statements by Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti that the Stability Pact forces nation-states into short-lived policies. “I think the new Stability Pact actually has the impulse to work on the medium and long term, in fact we are talking about a four- or even seven-year multi-year plan that the different countries have to present to the Commission in the coming weeks, that is now,” Gentiloni said. “So I think it is a long-term perspective. The cooperation with Minister Giorgetti has always been very good. We worked together very well, he played an important role in defining the new Stability Pact by representing Italy and supporting it on behalf of Italy. “For the European commissioner, “Italy has had good levels of growth. We have more than other countries to hold together the need to push growth and the need to control public debt. If there is one point on which Italy is particularly exposed, it is that of public debt, which, after the Greek debt, is the highest in the European Union and, unlike the Greek debt, has not yet embarked as it must over the next 10 years on a sure path of gradual reduction.”
– Photo Agency Photogram –
(ITALPRESS).
