MILANO – On adjustment paths in the context of infringement procedures for excess deficit “We’ll see if the new one decides Commission or the existing Commission – the timing is not very clear. It will certainly affect a certain number of countries, the decisions will be announced on 19 June and on this basis I believe there will be a path to adjusting budget policies, much more gradual and sustainable than the one we had before us with the previous rules, but necessary” The European Commissioner for Economy said it, Paolo Gentiloniupon his arrival at the meeting ofEurogroup.
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“It is clear that we must try to maintain a balance between investments and address – especially for high debt countries – the debt imbalance. How can we maintain this balance? First of all by using the enormous mass of European resources that we have at our disposal very often precisely in high-debt countries”, he underlined.
As for the performance of the European economy, Gentiloni added: “I will inform the ministers on the economic prospects also in view of the spring forecasts which I will present next Wednesday and which I will not disclose. We have seen the flash estimates of theEurostat of the first quarter, are estimates slightly higher than expectations. This means that what we expected in our winter forecast, namely an acceleration in economic activity, is taking place. This is a moderate acceleration that occurs in a context in which inflation is decreasing.”
“This is what we expect, a possible increase in private consumption and a labor market situation that remains quite strong. Of course, whenever we mention the economic outlook, we should always remember the uncertainty resulting from the geopolitical situation,” he specified .
Gramegna (Mes): “Approving it is a question of credibility”
The ESM issue then returned to the table at the Eurogroup, with Italy remaining the only country not to have approved ratification. During the Eurogroup “an appeal was clearly launched according to which we must first obtain approval of the amended ESM treaty which, as you know, has been ratified by 19 out of 20 countries. It is obviously a question of credibility to respect that commitment” , said the director of the ESM Pierre Gramegnaat a press conference in Brussels at the end of the Eurogroup.
“There is not much I can say today about the role that the ESM could play in defense matters, also because we have not discussed it at all. The only things that the ESM can do are linked to this treaty and to the mandate provided for by that treaty. Defense issues are not at all the responsibility of the ESM as it exists today”, he concludes.