Dear editor,
I'm writing this letter regarding a cartoon representing Italy and the EU published in the April 24 edition of The Korea Times.
The need for a joint and structured European Union response to the sanitary, economic and social disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is not only about issuing "Eurobonds," nor it is a purely Italian request.
All 27 member states of the EU have recognized, most remarkably at the European Council, the need for a serious mobilization by the European Union and a shift from an emergency approach to a structured approach which would allow to preserve its foundations, including the common market.
The situation linked to COVID-19 is unprecedented, in Italy like in the rest of the world. Acting on how to deal better with the consequences of the pandemic in no way can be termed as populism, and indeed, in order to overcome this crisis and start the recovery together, all 27 EU member states have recently agreed to establish a "Recovery Fund" dedicated to the sanitary, economic and social emergency due to the pandemic.
The initiative has been jointly undertaken by Italy, and other countries, and now accepted by the rest of the EU member states.
It is bound to become, as our Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has announced, an "innovative recovery mechanism with European shared bonds that will finance all countries hit by the pandemic, including Italy but not only Italy."
It is an articulate mechanism which will allow a joint recovery of all the member states, which have now been all hit by the pandemic, and will be complementary to other instruments so far adopted by the EU, such as Emergency Support Instrument (RescEU), Temporary Support to Mitigate Unemployment Risks in an Emergency and the European Union Pandemic Emergency Purchase Program.
Even if more details still need to be framed, such as the mechanisms of its funding, the new EU response to the COVID-19 pandemic is bound to benefit all the EU countries and their people, and help restart the European economy.
Federico Failla
Ambassador of Italy to Korea
I'm writing this letter regarding a cartoon representing Italy and the EU published in the April 24 edition of The Korea Times.
The need for a joint and structured European Union response to the sanitary, economic and social disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is not only about issuing "Eurobonds," nor it is a purely Italian request.
All 27 member states of the EU have recognized, most remarkably at the European Council, the need for a serious mobilization by the European Union and a shift from an emergency approach to a structured approach which would allow to preserve its foundations, including the common market.
The situation linked to COVID-19 is unprecedented, in Italy like in the rest of the world. Acting on how to deal better with the consequences of the pandemic in no way can be termed as populism, and indeed, in order to overcome this crisis and start the recovery together, all 27 EU member states have recently agreed to establish a "Recovery Fund" dedicated to the sanitary, economic and social emergency due to the pandemic.
The initiative has been jointly undertaken by Italy, and other countries, and now accepted by the rest of the EU member states.
It is bound to become, as our Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has announced, an "innovative recovery mechanism with European shared bonds that will finance all countries hit by the pandemic, including Italy but not only Italy."
It is an articulate mechanism which will allow a joint recovery of all the member states, which have now been all hit by the pandemic, and will be complementary to other instruments so far adopted by the EU, such as Emergency Support Instrument (RescEU), Temporary Support to Mitigate Unemployment Risks in an Emergency and the European Union Pandemic Emergency Purchase Program.
Even if more details still need to be framed, such as the mechanisms of its funding, the new EU response to the COVID-19 pandemic is bound to benefit all the EU countries and their people, and help restart the European economy.
Federico Failla
Ambassador of Italy to Korea
