27 January 2014

Spain and Italy commit to speeding up banking, fiscal, economic and political union

Italian PM Letta highlighted that the SRM should be approved during the Italian rotating Presidency of the EU. "It would be a mistake to delay it. This is the message that Italy and Spain want to get across", he said.

During the joint press conference held in Rome at the end of the 18th bilateral Italy-Spain Summit, the two leaders declared their agreement on the European agenda.

The President of the Spanish Government commented that the two countries are in agreement and will work together to "continue along the path of European, economic, fiscal and political integration", as well as to "speed up the implementation of Banking Union". He confirmed that Spain and Italy want "Banking Union to become a reality as soon as possible since it is an essential instrument for overcoming market fragmentation and the difficulties of SMEs gaining access to credit".

For his part, Enrico Letta highlighted that it is necessary that the single bank resolution mechanism (SRM) is approved during the Italian rotating Presidency of the European Union, which starts in June. "It would be a mistake to delay it. This is the message that Italy and Spain want to get across", he said.

The President of the Spanish Government reported that they also agreed at the meeting to implement a joint action vis-à-vis the European institutions to drive industrial policy and promote youth employment throughout the European Union beyond the instruments that are already in place. "Our main objective remains combating youth unemployment and supporting SMEs, which play an essential role in the European economy, both in terms of added value and employment", he said. The two countries will also coordinate actions vis-à-vis the European Council in March, at which issues such as industrial policy, climate change and the EU's energy policy will be tackled.

During his appearance, the President of the Government stated that he is "absolutely convinced that 2014 will be a year of economic growth and job creation in many countries in the European Union and that, in 2015, this situation will be definitively consolidated". In his opinion, exiting the crisis requires greater economic and political integration and, to that end, it is necessary to have an agenda of national and European reforms.

"We are going to continue applying our ambitious agenda of reforms, from which we are starting to see the first positive results during this term of office. I understand that the Italian Government is working along the same lines and I wish Enrico Letta the very best success from the conviction that we can only exit this crisis by presenting a united front", he declared. He reiterated that nobody is now in any doubts about the existence of the Euro, there is not so much talk these days about the risk premiums and nobody is talking about anyone being bailed out. "Talk is of the start of a period of growth and the stabilisation of the employment situation, and I believe that we can view the future with certain hope, although all governments will have to continue making major efforts".

In terms of the future of Europe, the President of the Spanish Government said that "this is based on Europe being its home and a space of peace, coexistence, liberty, civilisation and progress". It represents 25 per cent of world GDP and, in his opinion, the European process is "by good fortune, irreversible". He also expressed his wish to see, following the upcoming European elections, the new Parliament full of pro-Europeans, since it would be paradoxical to see the most powerful Parliament ever with the most eurosceptics ever.

Press release

© La Moncloa - Government of Spain