Italian Prime Minister, Mario Monti, and European Council President, Herman Van Rompuy, met in Rome on Monday to press Mr Monti's case for a stronger focus on economic growth.
Mr Monti, speaking after Standard & Poor's cut Italy's sovereign credit rating to triple-B-plus from single-A, noted the rating agency had in fact applauded his government's fiscal efforts and "pointed out the failures of European Union governance".
Mr Van Rompuy said that, despite market scepticism, "real progress" has been made in overhauling the economic governance norms of the EU and euro area. He also said it was time to "refocus" on economic growth and job creation, operating on both the supply and demand sides. There is no quick fix to the crisis and "sustained, committed" efforts will be needed, Mr. Van Rompuy said. He said it was essential to avoid a credit crunch in the region, praising the European Central Bank's decision to offer longer-term liquidity, but insisting that governments must also do more to make sure that smaller companies have access to funding and venture capital. Mr Van Rompuy also praised Mr Monti's efforts in his first 60 days in office, and said he expected even more "extraordinary" successes in Italy's technocrat government's first 100 days.
Mr Monti promised to unveil new liberalisation and infrastructure measures this week. He has also pledged to loosen Italy's labour laws. "The Italian agenda is the European agenda", Mr Van Rompuy said. "There is no distinction between what you are pursuing here and what is being pursued in Brussels."
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