“Europe emerges from the pandemic at great speed from the point of view of economic recovery”. And also for Italy, whose GDP growth for 2021 is estimated at around 5%, the scenario is favorable, even if the country’s delays need to be bridged. Justice, innovation, sustainability, gender equality, rights. The European commissioner for the economy, Paolo Gentiloni, spoke about it, interviewed by the director Maurizio Molinari on the stage of Repubblica delle Idee 2021.
Rep Idee 2021 – Europe and Italy: time to restart: the interview with Paolo Gentiloni by Maurizio Molinari
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In Piazza Maggiore in Bologna, in front of the public who with emotion returned to follow a live event while respecting safety regulations, the former prime minister said that “such high growth rates have not been seen since 1976 “. But in the appointment entitled “Italy / Europe, the time to restart”, Gentiloni also illustrated how to face the Russian and Chinese challenges, called the Hungarian law on homosexuals “shameful” and said he was proud of the Union’s behavior. during the pandemic, “which chose to divide the debt, without repeating the drama of the Greek crisis”. Of the restart, but of the school, in the morning he had also spoken the Minister of Education, Patrizio Bianchi.
Republic of ideas 2021, the program: in Bologna from 8 to 11 July
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M: The first money from the Recovery Fund will arrive in July, and all eyes are on the Draghi government.
G: “If I have to evaluate the decisions of the government, I think that the Italian PNRR is very demanding. Perhaps the feeling that this is a national mission is missing. It is not a question that only the government can solve. The large reconstruction companies either become a work in which everyone believes, or fails. Two hundred billion euros to spend in 4-5 years is a lot, just think that a financial one is worth 6-7 billion. You need pride and responsibility “.
M: A key issue will be the reform of justice. Requested several times by the European Commission.
G: “The goal is to make up for this delay, Italian businesses and citizens have the right to have justice with dignified times. As in Europe. For now this is not the case. Slowness is clearly an economic handicap. I assure you that for businesses who want to invest in our country, and have a great desire to do so, the fact that any dispute has an incomparable timeframe with any other European country is not tolerable “.
M: The decisive point will be to create new jobs by investing in sustainability and innovation. Two pillars for the President of the European Commission, Ursula von Der Leyen.
G: “The 26 billion euros of the Sure mechanism have helped to defend jobs by fueling layoffs but it will not be like this forever. We need a strong economic recovery. In the United States, millions of unemployed have not been helped. Joe Biden, a European-inspired welfare that we are proud of, have fostered the recovery. We have everything to grow: strong robotics, a very advanced circular economy, cutting-edge industries. subsidies “.
M: It was female employment that paid the highest price in the world of work affected by Covid.
G: “The formal gender constraint does not exist, but the Italian plan gives, at least in theory, a relevant space. The PNRR invests a lot in helping those who have children, starting with nursery schools. The issue of low female employment is a problem preceding the pandemic. The Covid emergency adds an extra responsibility to finally change course “.
M: Europe must also work on rights, but Orban’s Hungary is an obstacle.
G: “One of their laws introduces a shameful comparison between crimes against children and the diversity of sexual orientation. Article 7 allows intervention in the event of serious violations of the rule of law, but it is not easy to find unanimity: there are however economic tools to put pressure. We cannot take the challenge of rights lightly. The Chinese model represents an attraction to the world, a success through capitalism without discounts, without rights. We must combine economic success with freedom. China demonstrates the opposite, so we must defend our philosophy with even greater force “.
M: In Italy Orban finds a side in the leader of the League, Matteo Salvini.
G: “The pandemic has strengthened citizens’ trust in governments and science. These were not easy times for sovereignists. Salvini’s party actively collaborates with Draghi’s pro-European government. It may seem a contradiction, but it is not up to me. It is certain that they support theses that are not in the national interest, as on migrants. And on the economic level they are opposed to a minimum taxation for multinationals. So let’s defend together the Italian pro-European commitment “.
M: The Irish healthcare system was just the latest victim of a Russian hacker attack.
G: “I don’t want to put Russia and China on the same level. The Chinese challenge is a systemic one, as it was with the Soviet Union. A model of authoritarian capitalism that addresses many countries, inviting them to reproduce it. Russia, on the other hand, is a challenge. geopolitics. For our security, for Europe. But I don’t think it is an attractive economic model to rely on. I admit that we have underestimated the cyber threat. Now we are catching up, not just on the privacy side. It is important to protect competition. and regulate privacy protection for algorithms and artificial intelligence. We exploit the benefits without our data being used to influence purchasing decisions. “
M: Gentiloni, commissioner for economic affairs, holds one of the most important roles in the entire European Union.
G: “Jokingly, I say that the EU is a great factory of acronyms, where every idea becomes an acronym. What I think is extraordinary, however, is what has happened in this year and a half. The European response to this pandemic has been reassuring for everyone. . We shared the debt, the Greek crisis has not been replicated. Europe has finally shown itself united, we must be proud of it. A third of European money is destined for Italy and if the NRRR works, we will be able to propose this model again in the future. I don’t even want to think about the fact that it does not contribute to the relaunch of the country “.
RepIdee 2021: events at the Municipal Theater and links to book
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RepIdee 2021: events in Piazza Maggiore and links to book
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RepIdee 2021: the events at the Ambasciatori Library and the links to book
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