A Europe more united against global challenges, more joint investments in technologies, clean energy and defense. And even more migrants, with controlled entry to avoid a sharp drop in labor supply. Fabio Panetta, governor of Bank of Italy, dictates his recipe in the keynote held on the occasion of the graduation Honorary in Legal Sciences, Banking and Finance from the University of Roma Tre. A vision that matches with that of Mario Draghi, present in the university's main hall together with the former governor of Bank of Italy, Ignazio Visco.
Panetta: “The EU is aging, managing regular migratory flows”
And therefore, says Panetta, “many EU member states are facing the challenge of aging and population decline. According to theEurostat in the next fifteen years the working age population in the Union will reduce by 7 percent, and without the inflows of non-EU citizens currently expected the decline would be as much as 13 percent. To avoid a sharp decline in the supply of labor and therefore in the potential growth of the European economy, a significant effort is needed to allow the regular and controlled entry of immigrants and their integration into the labor market".
“The question of migration flows – he added – it cannot be addressed by Member States individually. A common immigration policy at European level is necessary both to avoid imbalances between Member States in the face of the asymmetric pressure exerted by massive arrivals from countries in the South of the world, and to coordinate regular entries for work reasons. It is also essential to attract qualified workers, capable of contributing to innovation in production systems also as entrepreneurs. Given the difficulties in finding high professional skills by companies in many advanced countries, international competition for this type of worker is particularly intense".
Panetta: “We need a more competitive economy”
“The scale of the commitments is enormous, and European countries can only succeed by joining forces and progressing towards a true economic and monetary union, with closer integration in both financial and fiscal terms,” Panetta continued. To face global challenges, the governor explained, “the solution is to strengthen the European economy. Rebalancing its growth model and enhancing the single market. Making it more competitive. Placing it at the forefront in the technological and energy fields. Enabling it to defend its external security. Giving it the strength and authority necessary to count in the world and contribute to dialogue and cooperation between countries".
Panetta: “We need to focus on internal demand”
“First of all, we need to reconsider the European growth model – continued Panetta – In the last two decades the EU economy has relied excessively on foreign demand and has penalized domestic demand, unlike the United States. However, trade disputes and global shocks make this growth strategy less sustainable and more risky." And again: “In perspective, Europe will have to strengthen internal demand and enhance the single market. Such a recipe is consistent with the evolution taking place in the world economy. For example the China, long one of the main markets for European exports, is reducing its commercial openness as a result of both the strengthening of internal demand and policies aimed at reducing dependence on foreign countries, especially in the technological sectors".
