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Coronavirus bailout is ‘an opportunity to design a better Italy’, says PM Giuseppe Conte

The €170 billion recovery fund granted to Italy by the EU is a chance for the country to invest in reform and catch up with its European neighbours, the prime minister says.

Published: 17 June 2020 09:20 CEST
Coronavirus bailout is 'an opportunity to design a better Italy', says PM Giuseppe Conte
Prime Minister of Italy Giuseppe Conte this week. Photo: Tiziana Fabi/AFP

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on Tuesday sought to reassure Europe that forthcoming coronavirus recovery funds would be spent wisely to revive the battered economy after a crippling lockdown.

In an exclusive interview to AFP, the leader of Europe's third-largest economy said Italy's share of the €750 billion recovery plan agreed by the European Commission would be the impetus to fix longstanding problems at home.

Economists say entrenched structural problems have put the brakes on progress for decades. They include Italy's burdensome public bureaucracy, sub-par infrastructure, including slow adoption of digital technology, and widespread tax evasion.

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“It's an opportunity for us to design a better Italy, to work on a serious, comprehensive investment plan that will make the country more modern, greener, and more socially inclusive,” Conte said.

The first European country to be hit by the coronavirus pandemic, Italy is reeling from the economic effects of a lockdown imposed in March to stem the spread of the virus that has killed nearly 34,500 people.

“I often say it's not a handout to benefit the current government, it's an investment we must make in Italy and in Europe for our children and grandchildren,” Conte said.


Conte at an EU summit in February. Photo: Aris Oikonomou/AFP

After months of wrangling among EU leaders and opposition from northern European countries, the European Commission in May agreed an unprecedented recovery plan, comprised of €500 billion in grants and €250 billion in loans. 

Under the biggest EU stimulus package in history, Italy is expected to receive €172 billion, the largest share.

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Italy and Spain had fought hard for a deal that would prioritise grants rather than loans, against the wishes of northern EU member states who insisted on a loans-only rescue package. On Tuesday, Conte had words of praise for his European partners, saying he recognised that in Germany, “there was a great internal debate” over how Europe should respond to the economic crisis set in motion by the coronavirus.

“Compared to the very rigid initial stances, there has been an improvement,” he said. “Germany has understood that it would not be appropriate for it either to have a Europe, a single market, that is so divided and fragmented.”

Conte said he and France's President Emmanuel Macron had “shared this battle from the beginning”, referring to early French support for Italy's call for budget solidarity within the EU. “We were among the protagonists of those who immediately called for a strong, solid and immediate European response,” Conte said.

As for post-Brexit negotiations with Britain, Conte said the month of July would be “crucial” but he was confident that a solution would be found “in the mutual interest of the parties”.

“Especially during this pandemic, it's of no use to the EU or to the UK if an agreement is not reached with a historic partner like the UK.”

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Conte will head to Brussels in September, where he will present a detailed plan for how the EU funds will be spent. Broad outlines of that plan are being debated at a general assembly organised by Conte that began in Rome on Saturday and is due to continue until June 21st.

With Italy's economy expected to shrink at least by 8.3 percent this year, the country's main employers' organisation has sounded the alarm, calling for serious reforms and a plan to help businesses facing potential bankruptcy.

The prime minister has invited economists, academics, unions and business associations, as well as EU leaders, saying he wanted to unite “the country's strongest forces” to come up with ideas for Italy's economic rebound while removing structural and bureaucratic barriers.

Priority areas include the green economy, investment in research and training, the modernisation of Italy's slow judicial processes, and more support for the key tourism, automobile and food industries.

“Italy has had a lower growth rate in recent years compared to other European countries. Today is an opportunity for us, with these resources, to catch up,” Conte said.

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POLITICS

Italy’s press freedom ranking drops amid fears of government ‘censorship’

Italy's ranking for press freedom worsened in 2024, with concerns about the silencing effect of defamation lawsuits and accusations of political influence over the country's media.

Published: 3 May 2024 09:43 CEST
Italy’s press freedom ranking drops amid fears of government 'censorship'

The annual World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on Friday ranked Italy 46th, which was five places lower than in 2023 and behind all other western European countries and most EU member states.

Italy ranked alongside Poland (47th), while Hungary, Malta, Albania and Greece were the only other countries in Europe to score lower.

France, Spain, Germany and most other major European countries improved their ranking in 2024, with Norway, Denmark and Sweden topping the table for press freedom again this year.

Globally however press freedom has worsened due to political attacks in the past year, according to RSF, including the detention of journalists, suppression of independent media outlets and widespread dissemination of misinformation.

READ ALSO: How much control does Giorgia Meloni’s government have over Italian media?

The index ranks 180 countries on the ability of journalists to work and report freely and independently.

Italy fell in the ranking amid concerns about lawsuits filed against journalists by politicians and following recent allegations of a creeping government influence on the country’s media.

“For the most part, Italian journalists enjoy a climate of freedom,” RSF said.

“But they sometimes give in to the temptation to censor themselves, either to conform to their news organisation’s editorial line, or to avoid a defamation suit or other form of legal action, or out of fear of reprisals by extremist groups or organised crime.”

Italian journalists have in recent months alleged censorship at state broadcaster Rai, which critics say is increasingly influenced by Giorgia Meloni’s government, while a member of her coalition government is trying to acquire news agency AGI.

Italian journalists also “denounce attempts by politicians to obstruct their freedom to cover judicial cases by means of a “gag law” – legge bavaglio – on top of the SLAPP procedures that are common practice in Italy,” RSF said.

READ ALSO: ‘Warning’ to Italy’s journalists as court fines reporter for defaming Meloni

It noted the fact that ‘defamation’ remains a crime in Italy, and that this is often used in lawsuits filed against individual journalists by powerful public figures – such as in the high-profile 2023 case of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suing anti-mafia journalist Roberto Saviano.

Defamation through the media can be punished in Italy with prison sentences of between six months to three years.

Mafia threats also remain a major issue in Italy, RSF noted, where some 20 journalists are under round-the-clock police protection after being the targets of intimidation and attacks.

“Journalists who investigate organised crime and corruption are systematically threatened and sometimes subjected to physical violence for their investigative work,” RSF said.

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