An action plan to be renewed annually. This is the main argument of the bilateral agreement between Prime Minister Mario Draghi and the new German chancellor Olaf Scholz. After Treaty of the Quirinale signed with France, Italy now intends to strengthen ties with Germany in order to build a more cohesive and stronger European Union.
DRAGHI: "WITH GERMANY COINCIDENCE OF VIEWS"
“I think there will be a rapprochement of positions. The pandemic calls all our countries to finance unprecedented and massive projects. And we will have to see how we move: it is a simpler field to tackle than others”, said the Prime Minister during the press conference at Palazzo Chigi with Scholz. “This visit – added Draghi – contributes to and confirms the depth of the bond between the two countries and it is our desire to collaborate to face the great European challenges. One of the first themes is the need to speed up European integration. There is a strong coincidence of views with Chancellor Scholz”.
“We discussed what changes are required as budgetary rules to understand how to achieve the European Union's objectives on the ecological, digital and defense transitions. In the last case we agreed on the need to build a common European defense not in antithesis with NATO - Draghi said - We discussed relations with neighboring countries, there is a strong coincidence of views on all these issues ”.
Responding to journalists' questions, the Premier recalled that “unanimity has become an obstacle to the EU's ability to act”, but the possibility of overcoming the obstacle “is not simple. For issues such as foreign policy and defense it is very complex”.
SCHOLZ'S WORDS
The German Chancellor complimented Italy on the way it is handling the Covid emergency, calling it "a shining example": "Hats off to the Italian commitment that is working hard. And our countries have decided to speak with one voice on the fight against the pandemic,” Draghi said. “Italy – he added – is a model to follow in the fight against Covid”.
On politics Scholz reiterated that there is “a long-standing cooperation between Italy and Germany. The important thing – he added – is to make progress for Europe and our two countries are essential for the success of this operation. We need close cooperation between our countries and we agree to strengthen it. We need to deepen our relations and we want to restart intergovernmental consultations as soon as possible. We can do a great job."
Speaking of the reform of the stability pact, Scholz underlined that "the rules we have already have their flexibility, on their basis we can also work in the future". It is a line on which “the three parties that form the new German government also agree. We – he added – have already demonstrated what we are capable of doing with the Next Generation Eu, Europe has found a common response to a crisis, that of the Covid pandemic, without precedent ”.
NEW ANTI-COVID MEASURES
Both Scholz and Draghi then anticipated the arrival of new measures to counter the spread of the Omicron variant. “In the control room this week we will review any measures in view of the Christmas holidays. Nothing is decided yet. Let's wait until Wednesday or Thursday for the sequencing data to see how the Omicron variant progresses," Draghi said, adding that "There is still work to be done and we must "proceed as quickly as possible with the third administration".
“Tomorrow I will have a conference with the presidents of the Land to approve the measures: they will be there additional restrictions for personal contacts, we must be highly prepared as Omicron spreads rapidly across Europe. We must be ready, above all in Germany for critical infrastructure that needs to be prepared for an emergency. We want to intensify vaccinations and also place restrictions among individuals ”, announced the German chancellor.
