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The European Economic Ministers meeting on Saturday 24 February at the Ecofin in Ghent in Belgium received a visit from Mario Draghi for an initial discussion useful for the preparation of the report on the competitiveness of the euro entrusted to him by the European Commission.
“Many profound changes have occurred in the global economic order in recent years and these changes have had a number of consequences, one of which is clear: Europe will have to invest enormous amount of money in a relatively short time,” explained Draghi. “ When we look at our main competitors and at the United States in particular, the gap is everywhere: in productivity, in GDP growth, in GDP per capita ,” insisted the former president of the European Central Bank who also referred to quantifiable needs .
“ The needs of the green and digital transitions are estimated at at least 500 billion euros per year, to which defense and productive investments must be added ”. Draghi's concern concerns "The gap between the EU and the USA" which "is widening especially after 2010. It took the USA two years to return to previous levels, the EU 9 years and we have not gone up since then. There is an investment gap of 1.5% of GDP equal to 500 billion euros." Addressing the ministers gathered in Belgium, Draghi asked them how to finance the needs of the huge investments to be made, how to mobilize savings in Europe, the national fiscal space, also in light of the new rules of the Stability Pact, and what think of an EU fund, a loan or public and private partnerships channeled by the European Investment Bank.
Just last week the European Commission published its new annual report on the Single Market and Competitiveness, which recommended further strengthening the Capital Markets Union, recording some improvements and a recovery in public investment from the low levels recorded after the financial crisis, partly thanks to the Recovery Fund distributed in the various national PNRRs.
Draghi's objective is to publish the report entrusted to him by the end of the first half of this year, but in any case after the European elections of 6-9 June.
staff @euroconomie.it
