"The logic, the philosophy" of Conte on the use of the Mes "is absolutely shareable . The ways in which an operation of this kind can be made are linked to the discussion on these eurobonds, that is, on tools that are built on the market and are available for all countries ": Commissioner for Economic Affairs Paolo Gentiloni said on Radio Anch'io . Gentiloni stressed that the crisis "affects everyone", and since we have coordinated tools we must try to use them ".
For Gentiloni "the size of the common response is still not adequate but extraordinary steps have been taken. If we change the budget rules, those on state aid and the ECB puts the parachute into action, despite the differences (of views between countries, ed. ) the reaction was very fast. " Gentiloni explained that "we will have enormous consequences for all countries", but still "it is difficult to understand" that it is not a crisis "of only one or a few".
"We need more severity. I do not know if there will be a new provision, the chain of command is clear and Conte is the synthesis, but I would like it at least in areas such as Lombardy," said the political leader of the M5s, Vito Crimi on Radio 1 . "Everything that is not essential should be closed. But many companies have chosen to close their own", thus answering the question of whether it is necessary to close all the companies. "Regarding the use of MES without conditionality - concludes Vito Crimi - unfortunately I don't believe it".
THE POINT
Count to the EU, use the EUR 500 billion for the affected countries
'ECB policy is not enough'. EU evaluates moves, we will do everything
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has asked the EU to use "all the firepower" of the € 500 billion bailout fund to deal with the continent's economic crisis. Not only for Italy, but for all countries affected by the coronavirus. "Monetary policy alone - explains in an interview with the Financial Times - cannot solve all the problems. We must do the same on the budget front and, as I said, timing is essential. The way forward is to open the lines credit cards to all member states to help them combat the consequences of the Covid-19 epidemic. " The step taken by Italy comes the day after the surprise move by the ECB, with Europe looking relieved at the reaction of the markets that experience the rebound after the deep red of the past few days. But it is more than temporary relief: everyone, from governments to community institutions, is aware that Christine Lagarde has only bought them a little more time to decide on the next steps and to develop a credible and effective strategy that they do not expect only. Bags.
"The tools are there and we will use them all," says euro manager Valdis Dombrovskis, reassuring those who fear that the EU will grope in the dark. But Eurogroup President Mario Centeno admits that other ways are being explored besides the existing ones, "to strengthen the response", because not everyone agrees that what is available is sufficient: a sentence that read in light of the request of the Italian premier, it seems to prefigure the hypothesis of a use of the Mes. Meanwhile, the President of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, reiterates that Italy will be granted "maximum flexibility" on spending and state aid. And that she will be left with 11 billion euros of structural funds which she would have had to return to Brussels because they were unused. The situation in these days is changing so rapidly that the EU cannot even fix its appointments. Already an Ecofin, scheduled for tomorrow, has blown. Thanks to the Frankfurt move, ministers no longer needed to send out a new signal to reassure the markets, and decided to take more time to design the strategy that will protect the European economy. They will probably be seen - again via conference call - in extended Eurogroup format on Monday. That is always at 27, but with Centeno leading the meeting and deciding the agenda. This is also because on the table there is now a theme of the States Save Fund, the Mes, which was born in the Eurogroup, and can only develop in that context. Centeno recalls that the Council has mandated ministers to explore all avenues to save the European economy, including the Mes. At the moment, it would be the easiest tool to use: it is already ready to intervene and has a residual capacity of 410 billion euros. Developing something like this, as some governments imply, would be too laborious. The use of the Mes, however, has a 'political' limit: if a state asks for its help, it would come under strict conditions. So far it has been about structural reforms and forced fiscal consolidation, as for Greece. However, efforts could be made to make its use more acceptable. For example, conditionality could be linked to interventions for the health system or for emergencies related to the epidemic crisis. And the 'parachute' could open for several States or even for all, so as to avoid stigmatization of those who use it. The debate on the Mes, however, has not even officially started yet. There are many doubts, and there are many doubts about the idea launched by France, Italy and Portugal to create the 'crown bonds', which would give birth to the Eurobonds to which Germany has so far always opposed. In fact, Merkel is the coldest on the idea, aware that pooling the debts would not have the ok of the Bundestag. The reflection of the EU continues in the coming days, in view of the Eurogroup and a new EU summit next week. On that occasion, the Commission should propose to activate the Stability Pact safeguard clause, which will suspend budgetary adjustments. But even on this point the positions are not uniform, because there are those who would like to activate it immediately and those who make another discussion in Ecofin before the go-ahead.
