Conte and Sanchez: many points of the Covid emergency require a European response

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November 25, 2020 "We have been honored and proud to be here. This is a summit that takes place 7 years after the previous one, which took place in 2014. We should ask ourselves why all these years have passed but we have made up time. These meetings are becoming a custom but this summit changes the quality of our relations ".

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said this in the joint press conference at the Italian-Spanish summit.

"We have

.

This is a summit of consultation but also of action, we have defined responses not only between the two countries but also for the EU.

It is a summit that wants to highlight the best of Europe ", says Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. Among the anti-Covid measures on which Sanchez emphasizes the need for an EU response, the premier mentions" measures for the Christmas period "and the "vaccine plan".

"We had a strong harmony in the European solidarity approach in the Covid crisis, and from there a strong bond with Pedro was born. We do not hide the difficulties, the next EU Council will be decisive to make the commitments operational but we are confident that by continuing to work together with courage and vision, even the countries that bring a slowdown will be convinced that all European citizens absolutely cannot wait "for the Recovery Fund, continued Conte, also adding that" we must work on European mechanisms for the effective redistribution "of migrants" and we must strengthen European return mechanisms ".

"Italy, Greece, Spain and Malta appreciate the efforts of the EU commission on the

. However, the imbalance between the elements of solidarity and responsibility must be addressed to clarify that a fair sharing of borders is an essential factor for a true policy European Union on the immigration and asylum system ", reads the joint work proposal that - according to what is learned from sources participating in the summit - the 4 countries will send to the president of the EU Council, Charles Michel, to the president of the commission Ursula von der Leyen and to the Chancellery Angela Merkel, rotating president of the European semester.

"Europe - said the premier - has a new engine, and on the other hand, the large number of ministers present here testifies to this strategic importance", underlining then: "When institutional roles are held, they often become leaders in labels of protocols. With Pedro there is something more, which was born even in the days of European negotiations and even before. I appreciated his propensity for dialogue, his political intelligence and his human trait. We found ourselves in a dramatic situation and we discovered that we have a common sensitivity, a cultural affinity ".

On the

, Conte explained: "We are working, I have had talks with the representatives of the EU institutions, to try to promote and obtain coordination in particular for the ski resorts and the Christmas holidays. Christmas holidays in the mountains as in other years, if there is an EU response, I hope for it and I believe it is appropriate ".

"We do not want to invade national choices - he continued - we are taking care to avoid cross-border transfers, avoiding that if you go abroad you can return without any health checks".

"

- said Conte - must be reopened as soon as possible. We must not cause inconvenience to our young people in particular".

"I understand that the Minister of Health may wish for new resources, the problem is not in the instrument but in the resources. Already in the budget law there are conspicuous resources, in the

there will be conspicuous resources for the health system. There is a plan of strengthening health care, we will ensure that the resources are adequate ", said the Italian premier, answering a question on the ESM during the press conference in Palma de Mallorca.

"As Italy, we want to play a leading role in the

reform process

. We want to strengthen the propensity of the whole system so that there is mutuality in the common European debt. Now it is connected to the pandemic phase, it will be evaluated how these mutualization mechanisms can be ", Conte said, explaining that, in yesterday's government meeting, it was not the activation of the Mes but the reform of the mechanism that was on the table.

"I am sensitive to the issue of

at the European level. If we want to pursue a single market it is clear that within its space there must be equal opportunities, we must not create the conditions for competitive distortion and to avoid this we must harmonize fiscal policies without compressing the power of initiative ".

"Any advice on the coalition government from Italy is welcome. Ours is the first coalition government in history" and "experience is the best law".

Thus the Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez responding to those who ask him if he needs advice from Rome in terms of coalition executives.