The COVID emergency has united Italy
and Spain even more than before, Premier Giuseppe Conte said at
a press conference with Premier Pedro Sanchez in Madrid
Wednesday agreeing with the Spanish PM's call for a Recovery
Fund deal by the end of the month.
Conte said Madrid was the second stage, after Lisbon, of his
tour of EU capitals to drum p support for a Recovery Fund deal.
He said the trip "has boosted our conviction that we must work
in harmony".
Conte said "we must finalise the package of EU measures by the
end of July"
He said there should be "no giving way" on the European
Commission's initial proposal of a 750 billion euro fund to
come more in grants than loans.
Conte said an "elevated" response was needed from the EU, and
not a "compromise among the 27".
Sanchez told the press conference that the EU must reach a deal
on the COVID emergency Recovery Fund by the end of this month.
"We need a joint response from Europe," he said alongside Conte.
"There can be no other moment for the accord than beyond this
month".
Conte is continuing to firm up Spanish and Portuguese support
for Italy's stance on the EU's planned Recovery Fund, after
flying from Lisbon to
Madrid.
Political sources said there was full agreement between the
three countries that there should be a swift European response,
with a deal by the end of this month.
Italy, Spain and Portugal also agree that most of the funds must
come in grants rather than loans, according to the European
Commission's original 750 billion euro proposal.
Northern European countries, on the other hand, are pushing for
more loans than grants and have said there is no great hurry for
an agreement.
On Tuesday Conte stressed the need for a reaction to the COVID
crisis, which risks destroying the single market, saying "if
some countries have greater difficulty, all the others will
suffer as a consequence".
Sanchez said an agreement on the Fund could and must be reached,
in an interview with Corriere della
Sera newspaper Wednesday.
Sanchez spoke of a pact for Europe between Italy and Spain.
He added that Madrid for now has adequate access to credit and
will therefore not resort to the European Stability Mechanism
bailout fund.
Italy, too, has been cautious about using the ESM, with some in
government saying that a no strings attached promise may not
turn out to be accurate
Conte, for his part, has said it is up to parliament to decide
whether Rome should tap into the ESM for COVID-related spending.
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