When asked if his floor let it be an ultimatum, Mario Draghi he answers determinedly: it is time for a change, “or it will be a slow agony”. The man who saved theeuro returns to take the stage with a clear and urgent message for the salvation of theEuropewhich has “an existential challenge” ahead of it. “If it fails to become more productive” it will be forced “to choose and scale down some, if not all, of its ambitions.” The injection of confidence is worth among the 750 they 800 billion euros per year. Like a double decker Marshallin the figures detailed by the former Prime Minister, from the value of 4.7% of the GDP continental. “Without these investments, our well-being, our society and even our freedom will be at risk,” warns Super Mario which, without beating around the bush, paves the way for the issuance of new common debt on the model of the Recovery fund. A new bazooka – some are quick to define it – which however finds the cold of Ursula von der Leyen and of his Berlinwhich through the mouth of the minister of Finance, Christian Lindnerrejects the hypothesis that this is the way forward.
On the big day of the presentation of his maxi-report on the competitiveness, Dragons comes back to lash out at everyone. He had already done so in February by asking the presidents of the commissions of theEuropean Parliament to “do something” and to “not always say no”. And then in April, from the podium of the summit of theSocial Europe to The Hulpecalling for a “radical change”. This time, alongside of der Leyenfirst talks about the importance of the journey undertaken exactly one year ago – at the request of the German – which, with the contribution of the team of European Commissionof experts, politicians and social partners, led him to draft the 400-page document. He then goes into the details of his ‘whatever it takes’ to relaunch the tired continental economy which has not been growing for some time now, continuing to lose ground in the race of the great world powers dominated by United States And China.
THE’Europe second Mario Draghi has the features of aUnion more united and quicker in making decisions. It will have to make use of new tools common debt «for certain projects» – with the counter-guarantee of the Villages to keep public debt at more sustainable levels – and more flexibility on State aid. It will have to aim for greater investments in defensein the’innovation and in theenergyas well as on climate directives in harmony with the industrial ones. Then it will have to overcome that unanimous vote that makes it a prisoner of itself, veering towards the qualified majority and, where necessary, the enhanced cooperation between willing governments. «Never before have individuals European countries they seemed so small compared to the scale of the challenges we face”, is one of the observations among the 170 proposals of the former number one of theEurotowerranging from governance to raw materials, from productivity to new technologies.
A sense of urgency and concreteness – «for the first time since Cold War theEU must truly fear for its survival and the need for a unified response has never been more pressing” – shared across the board in Italy. From the commissioner EU for theEconomy, Paul Gentiloniwhich urges the protagonists of the new cycle to “listen” to the call, to Brothers of Italy which highlights the “undeniable merit” of Dragons to call «to the great challenges and finally write the word ‘end’ on a season dominated for too long by a damaging ultra-environmentalist and anti-industrial ideology». The ambition of the former prime minister also echoes overseas where even Elon Musk speaks of a “thorough criticism” of aEurope which must “review the rules”. The sore point, however, remains the common fundinga red line for Berlin and for the Northern hawks. And, even though the former president of the ECB ensure that the common debt “it is a tool among others, not an objective in itself”, the resistance is strong. New tools such as the Recovery “they will not solve any structural problems”, is the frontal attack of Lindner. Caution is also a must for of der Leyen which for its encore is not ready to push the accelerator on models that recall the Recovery. «First – the German cuts short – there is the definition of priorities and common projects, then there are two possible ways: national funding or new own resources». In the end, the call for Super Mario becomes an encouragement: “In our unity we will find the strength to reform.”