Ministero dell'Economia e delle Finanze

Rome, 16 June – Italian Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti attended the Ecofin meeting in Luxembourg today, which focused on the reform of EU economic governance, VAT in the digital age, the upcoming Spanish-led European semester, and the effects of the conflict in Ukraine.

“Italy and the Italian government praise the work done by the EU Commission on the reform of the Stability and Growth Pact, even if we believe that there are still aspects to be improved”, said the Minister during the meeting, where he emphasised that “national sovereignty must be combined and concerted at European level from the outset, including with regard to its methodological and technical aspects, which must not prevail over political considerations”.

Giorgetti also emphasised that Italy is “open to discussion with the Commission and with all the Member States, bearing in mind that each has its own specificities and that we also clearly share the view that progressive debt reduction is an essential condition for stability, sustainability and growth”.

Furthermore, the Minister recalled that it is “important to devote adequate attention to investment policy, in particular those considered priorities by the Next Generation EU for the environmental and energy transition and digitization”.

Regarding the European Commission’s proposal on VAT reform, Giorgetti said, “We support the establishment of a coherent guideline at EU level. We agree on the need to strengthen the role of digital platforms to make the system more resistant and resilient to fraud risks”.

On the sidelines of Ecofin, Minister Giorgetti had cordial, constructive bilateral meetings with Ministers Bruno Le Maire (France), Christian Lindner (Germany) and Yuriko Backes (Luxembourg). The focus of the talks was on the new rules of the Stability Pact, the ESM, the NRRP and the economic relations between the respective countries.

Earlier, on Thursday 15 June, Giorgetti had attended the annual meeting of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), meeting the Italian staff working in the Luxembourg office at the end.

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