“The state must be ready to help citizens and businesses in facing the costs of this complex transformation” linked to the EU Next Generation. Prime Minister Mario Draghi said this at the Italian-German Economic Forum. “At least one fifth of the funds of the EU Next Generation program is destined for the digital transition. We intend to help businesses innovate and make life easier for citizens. We aim to modernize the public sector, starting with schools and hospitals in depressed areas. To disseminate digital knowledge, so that they are a tool for social mobility and overcoming inequalities ”, he added.
Then, in the video message with which he spoke at the 15th Italian-German Economic Forum “Let’s start again with Europe!” organized by the Italian-German Chamber of Commerce in Cernobbio, the premier said: “Relations between Italy and Germany are strong and deep: the two countries share the same strategic objective, the completion of the European integration process”. “I find very appropriate the motto that the Chamber of Commerce has chosen to celebrate its centenary:” Growing Together “. After the tragedies of the pandemic, we want to proceed together on a path of rapid, inclusive and sustainable development”.
Afghanistan.
Moving to the G20 Interfaith Forum in the afternoon, Draghi then spoke about Afghanistan: «In the last few days, we have been witnessing images that take us back to the darkest years in the country’s history. In particular, women, who in the past twenty years had regained basic rights, such as education, are now in danger of even being banned from practicing sports, also repressing their representation in the government. As an international community we have a moral obligation to a country we have been in for twenty years. An obligation of humanitarian aid, of the prevention of terrorism, of support for the protection of human rights ”.
“To defeat the pandemic, the vaccination campaign must go everywhere” globally. “Only in this way will we be able to save lives, curb the contagion, avoid the emergence of dangerous variants.” For Draghi, «after the trauma of the pandemic, the world economy is growing again. However, the recovery doesn’t involve everyone equally. According to the most recent forecasts, most of the G20 countries will recover the ground lost during the health crisis by 2022. This will not be the case for two thirds of the most fragile states. The consequences for the poorest run the risk of being dramatic ”continued Draghi. On the other hand, according to the FAO, due to the pandemic there are over 150 million more malnourished people, which is why – added Draghi – «the G20 has promoted a package of measures to support developing economies, involving the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. We have reached an agreement to facilitate debt restructuring for overly indebted countries. There is still a lot of work to be done to increase resources, to involve private creditors who do not participate in this agreement, which has so far benefited a small number of countries. We need to watch over the commitments already made and be ready to take more courageous ones ».
Europe.
“A stronger Europe from an economic, diplomatic and military point of view is the only way to have a stronger Italy and a stronger Germany”, continued Draghi. «Germany and Italy are the manufacturing engine of the European Union. About half of its industrial production comes from our factories. From mechanics to means of transport, we are often a single value chain – a tangible sign of the advantages of the single market and monetary union ».
Italy-Germany.
“In 2020, exchanges between the two countries amounted to 116 billion, more than Italy’s exchanges with the United States and China combined,” explained the premier. «Germany trades more with Lombardy than with Turkey. And Italy trades more with Bavaria than with the whole of Poland. Our prosperity and well-being largely depend on being united ”.
«This year’s forum», Draghi concluded, «focuses on the themes of sustainability, digitization and interconnection between our economies. These are challenges that the European Union has decided to tackle with an innovative tool: the Next Generation EU. A program that represents a unique opportunity for the development of our countries and for the strengthening of the Union. We both have dedicated about 40% of the resources to the ecological transition. We want to accelerate the decarbonisation effort, reduce emissions and focus on cutting-edge technologies such as hydrogen, on which there is a structured collaboration at European level. The timing of this process must be ambitious, but compatible with the adaptability of our economies ».
Before that of the Italian premier, the video message of Chancellor Angela Merkel: “The German-Italian Chamber of Commerce has done a lot to ensure that our two countries grow together,” he declared. “Today, in order to continue to do so, we are aiming for sustainability and digitization”.
To open the works, together with the intervention of the President AHK Italien Monica Poggio: «In 1921», he declared, «Italy and Germany chose to collaborate to overcome the challenges of the future, after a terrible past. Today, in 2021, in our centenary, we are trying to leave behind a pandemic that has put a strain on our economic systems “. The president of Confindustria Bonomi was also on the stage of the forum to explore the key issues of the restart of the Old Continent,