(Finance) – “Our response to the new shocks we are facing should include measures to compensate for the lack of investments public in the period between the global financial crisis and the onset of the pandemic. In particular, we should aim to stimulate investment to achieve goals, such as energy security and the green transition, which constitute European public goods. This could take the form of a European tax capacity dedicated to investments that would be based on the experience of NGEU. “So Fabio Panetta, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, in his speech at the Institute for International Policy Studies (ISPI).
Panetta pointed out that before the global financial crisis the levels of investment public gross they were around 4% of the gross domestic product (GDP) in Europe. After the sovereign debt crisis, however, public investment plummeted by more than one percentage point. Taking into account the depreciation of the capital stock, the investments public net sales fell from around 1% of GDP in 2010 to around 0% in 2013. They hovered around that level until 2019 and even turned negative between 2014 and 2017. ” ‘euro invested around € 500 billion less in the period 2011-19 than in the pre-crisis period 2000-2009. Net public investment in the euro area in the period 2011-19 was the lowest among advanced economies , with the exception of the Japan“, he stressed.
Panetta recalled some areas in which public investments will be required from EU countries: climate, digitization And Nato expenses. “To meet these funding needs, we need a European strategy. In this regard, the recent responses of individual national policies to the crisis energy ongoing suggest that a coordination approach falls short of what is required today, “he said.” Progress on new own resources is essential. There is a clear rationale for funding EU policies from EU revenue. An agreement on the package proposed by the Commission at the end of 2021 would be a welcome first step, also in view of the future debt repayment NGEU – has explained -. Finally, one more debt issuance at EU level it could be mobilized if justified by external shocks “.
“To pursue ours interests common, we need joint investments. Investing together will cement our unity. This is because investing in the future of Europe defines the Europe we want to see – concluded the representative of the ECB -. We have inherited a great legacy from European history. But the Europe of tomorrow is our responsibility. If we let others decide, we risk losing what we value most: the ability to shape our own destiny. ”