"I'm the one who keeps the accounts. The head of the Italian government Giuseppe Conte sharply replied to German Chancellor Angela Merkel who urged European countries this Saturday to use all the EU's stimulus instruments, including the Stability Mechanism (MES).
"Nothing has changed with regard to the opinions of Angela Merkel, but it is I, with Roberto Gualtieri, the Minister of Economy, and the state accountants, who keep the accounts" of the Italy, said Giuseppe Conte. "We are preparing a recovery plan for Italy which we will present in September," added the head of government during a press conference, which was devoted to the start of the school year in Italy.
A bad media outing
Giuseppe Conte reacted to remarks made by Angela Merkel in an interview published this Saturday by several European daily newspapers: La Stampa (Italy), Le Monde (France), Polityka (Poland), La Vanguardia (Spain) and Süddeutsche Zeitung (Germany).
Asked if Italy should use the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), the European relief fund set up during the euro crisis, Angela Merkel replied: "It was to Italy that it is up to you to decide. We have created the instruments, with the European Investment Bank, the precautionary credit lines of the MES or the SURE partial unemployment scheme ”. “Anyone can use these instruments. We did not create them to keep them unused, ”added the Chancellor.
European Stability Mechanism divides Italy
The political debate is lively in Italy about a possible use of the MES line of credit. The device notably divides the majority in power, the 5 Star Movement (M5S, anti-system) - which Giuseppe Conte is close to - being opposed while its partner in the coalition, the Democratic Party (left), is favorable to it.
The European Stability Mechanism (ESM), an organization created in 2012 during the debt crisis, will grant credit lines to the countries most affected by the coronavirus crisis. Loans can reach up to 2% of the country's GDP.
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