“It is I who keep the accounts”: the head of the Italian government Giuseppe Conte sharply replied to the German chancellor Angela Merkel who urged on Saturday the European countries to use all the instruments of revival of the EU, including the Mechanism of stability (MES).
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“Nothing has changed regarding the opinions of Angela Merkel, but it is I, with Mr. Gualtieri (note: the Minister of the Economy) and the state accountants, who keep the accounts” from Italy, said Giuseppe Conte. “We are preparing a recovery plan for Italy which we will present in September,” added the head of government during a press conference which was devoted to the start of the school year in Italy.
Conte was reacting to remarks made by Angela Merkel in an interview published on Saturday by several European daily newspapers: La Stampa (Italy), Le Monde (France), Polityka (Poland), La Vanguardia (Spain) and Süddeutsche Zeitung (Germany).
Asked if Italy should resort to the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), the European relief fund set up during the euro crisis, Merkel replied: “It was to Italy that it is up to you to decide. We have created the instruments, with the European Investment Bank, the precautionary credit lines of the MES or the SURE partial unemployment scheme ”. “Anyone can use these instruments. We did not create them to keep them unused, ”added the Chancellor.
The political debate is lively in Italy about a possible use of the MES line of credit.
The device notably divides the majority in power, the 5 Star Movement (M5S, anti-system) – of which Mr. Conte is close – being opposed while his partner in the coalition, the Democratic Party (left), is favorable to him.
The European Stability Mechanism (ESM), an organization created in 2012 during the debt crisis, will grant credit lines to the countries most affected by the coronavirus crisis. Loans can reach up to 2% of the country’s GDP.
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