(Finance) – On the sidelines of the Rimini Meetingthe European Commissioner for the Economy, Paul Gentilonidefended the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP)responding firmly to the criticisms of the Minister of Economy Giancarlo Giorgetti. “That the PNRR is made up of Soviet interventions seems like a joke to me”, declared Gentiloni, adding that he knows the Minister well and his sense of humor. “It is a very important thing for Italy, I am 190 billion eurobonds. Here nearby is the Rubicon, and this was the crossing of the Rubicon by the European Union, the issuance of Eurobonds, and you know that Italy is the main beneficiary.”
Gentiloni warned against the dangers of not being able to spend these funds due to the internal bureaucracy. “If we were unable to spend this money, to implement these investments, then there would be a bureaucratic problem, but on our part, not on the part of those who imagined the projects, that is, the Italian governments and those who authorized them, that is, the European Commission.”
Reflecting on the future of stability pact, Gentiloni said: “I think that the new stability pact actually has the impulse to work in the medium and long term.” He then added that the collaboration with Giorgetti has always been excellent and that the minister has played a crucial role in defining the new pact.
Gentiloni also called for public attention on multi-year plans provided for by the pacthighlighting the need to address the discussion on the Budget Law with a long-term perspective. “I truly invite not only the government but also the political forcessocial forces and intermediate bodies to activate us”, he said, stressing the importance of representing an innovative multi-annual perspective in Brussels.
Finally, Gentiloni expressed his vision of patriotism in a European key. “The true patriots are the true pro-Europeans,” he said, adding that betting on Europe does not mean reducing Italy’s role. “I think that the true patriots are pro-Europeans.”
The Commissioner concluded by speaking about the future challenges, from EU expansion to the need for a single European Treasuryand reiterated the importance of reforming the unanimity rules on crucial issues such as taxation and foreign policy.