(Finance) – The war in Ukraine “can have very serious systemic consequences both because the appreciation of the dollar causes difficulties for several emerging economies and because the crisis makes it difficult to supply grain, seeds and commodities essential for agriculture and this can have significant repercussions on prices and on the supply of food for countries emerging countries and in particular for African countries “, said the EU Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs Paolo Gentiloni at a press conference at the Foreign Press Association in Rome. The impact “of this crisis triggered in February is an impact che goes beyond the immediate consequences on the slowdown in growth “he added.
Despite the war in Ukraine in Europto “we are not destined for recession, we can work to avoid a negative GDP trend “but it is obvious that we are”in a context of evident uncertainty and slowdown “.
“High-debt countries, such as Italy, will have to proceed with a gradual debt reduction: “we cannot pretend that this goal does not exist di debt relief “an objective that is “advantageous if the country grows”, he said again explaining that the two objectives of investments for growth and debt reduction “which seem to go in different directions, in reality concur” to a single goal.
The recipe for keeping them together goes: “first, limiting the increase in current expenditure and above all the increase in permanent current expenditure, for example – he observes – the Commission justifies and even encourages the measures on electricity and energy prices “because they are of a temporary nature. Therefore, he adds,” targeted and temporary measures are fully justified “but” beyond these measures we must keep a close watch on increases in current spending for high debt countries and work for common rules of investment facilitation and a more realistic and shared debt reduction path and this will be the work of the next few weeks in view of the proposal to revise the Stability Pact “.
“Of course in high-debt countries, we identify six, including Italy, must have particular attention to public finance. The challenge is not simple, it is in words but in fact it is not very simple, it is to keep the economic trend in positive territory by overcoming the crisis in Ukraine, to resume growth and at the same time to keep the high level of debt under control ” , explains Gentiloni.
And “never before has it been necessary to complete and implement the measures and reforms and investments related to the various NRP of the Member States of the European Union “stressed again to increase sustainable growth.
As for the approval of a ceiling on the price of gas “I do not think it is discussion today” al Council of EU heads of state and government. “What is under discussion, I believe, is the possibility of entrusting the European Commission with the task of, as they say, exploring the possibility of going in this direction”. “If this were the agreement between the various member countries of the Council, the commission could” proceed in time but “” it is difficult today to make predictions. In the meantime, let’s look at what will happen today and tomorrow “”, she stressed.
On PNRR: for Italy, given the amount of resources, “has tremendous value for holding the economy” and this does not “for general spending but investments aimed at the future”.