Europe must do more on economic growth: Italy PM
Friday, 13 January 2012
ROME, Jan 12 (AFP): Europe must make a greater effort to ensure growth, Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti said Thursday, hinting that the European Central Bank should do more to help in the future once new budget rules are in place.
"Europe is not only about budget discipline. It is very important to move beyond this and to invest constructive political energy in growth," Monti told parliament in a speech following talks in Paris and Berlin.
"We have to exploit the full potential of an integrated continent to grow more. And this has not been done up until now. It has not been done by the European institutions or by the biggest member states," he said.
Monti said he was planning meetings with British Prime Minister David Cameron and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk because their countries had a strong vision of market-oriented growth that Europe could follow.
He also said that once new European budget discipline rules are in place, "it is possible that the European Central Bank ... can feel more relaxed"-an apparent reference to greater ECB assistance.
Monti has pushed through a tough austerity budget since his unelected technocratic government was installed in November after Silvio Berlusconi was pushed out of power by a wave of market panic and a parliamentary revolt.
The former European competition commissioner has vowed to make Italy, the eurozone's third largest economy, an international player again.
"Italy has to play an active role in helping to bring Europe back to a path of growth and stability," he said in his speech.
With a debt mountain of 1.9 trillion euros ($2.4 trillion), an economy headed into recession and alarmingly high borrowing costs, Italy has helped fan investor concerns over the eurozone in recent months.
The ECB holds a regular policy meeting Thursday but analysts expect no changes after it cut interest rates twice late last year to a record low 1.0 per cent and introduced a whole series of measures to encourage bank lending in an effort to bolster the economy.
"Europe is not only about budget discipline. It is very important to move beyond this and to invest constructive political energy in growth," Monti told parliament in a speech following talks in Paris and Berlin.
"We have to exploit the full potential of an integrated continent to grow more. And this has not been done up until now. It has not been done by the European institutions or by the biggest member states," he said.
Monti said he was planning meetings with British Prime Minister David Cameron and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk because their countries had a strong vision of market-oriented growth that Europe could follow.
He also said that once new European budget discipline rules are in place, "it is possible that the European Central Bank ... can feel more relaxed"-an apparent reference to greater ECB assistance.
Monti has pushed through a tough austerity budget since his unelected technocratic government was installed in November after Silvio Berlusconi was pushed out of power by a wave of market panic and a parliamentary revolt.
The former European competition commissioner has vowed to make Italy, the eurozone's third largest economy, an international player again.
"Italy has to play an active role in helping to bring Europe back to a path of growth and stability," he said in his speech.
With a debt mountain of 1.9 trillion euros ($2.4 trillion), an economy headed into recession and alarmingly high borrowing costs, Italy has helped fan investor concerns over the eurozone in recent months.
The ECB holds a regular policy meeting Thursday but analysts expect no changes after it cut interest rates twice late last year to a record low 1.0 per cent and introduced a whole series of measures to encourage bank lending in an effort to bolster the economy.