Members of the European Parliament today debated the priorities of the Italian presidency for their mandate at the helm of the EU Council with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.

Manfred Weber MEP, Chairman of the EPP Group in the European Parliament, welcomed the Italian PM’s announcement on structural reforms and budget consolidation, both in Italy and at European level: “The key issue for Europe is to generate growth. We need reforms for that. Our political family has been in the lead, in Greece, Portugal, Ireland, to implement these reforms, which required a lot of sacrifices from the citizens of these countries. These reforms are now bearing fruit,” he underlined.

“However there is a great difference between us on the lessons to learn from the crisis,” Manfred Weber continued. “One of the lessons is that piling up debt is never a solution. Debt destroys the future. We need more sustainable growth, because what we want to leave our children is more opportunities, not greater debt,” he insisted.  

The Chairman of the EPP Group in the European Parliament underlined that, as far as the Stability and Growth Pact is concerned, there should be no difference between large and small countries in the European Union. “If we were to give France and Italy more time to fulfill their commitments, what would we say to the smaller countries that have made all these sacrifices?” he asked.

Manfred Weber reiterated that abiding by the rules of the Stability and Growth Pact was key to restoring confidence in Europe’s economy: “We have to stick to what was agreed. We have to implement what we have decided and show our citizens that we are responsible,” he concluded.