STRASBOURG The plenary of the European Parliament approved the reform of the Stability Pact by a large majority. It is the final result of a difficult negotiation first between EU countries (Italy voted in favor in December) and then with the European Chamber. A process that modified the initial proposal of the EU Commission.
The vote of the Italians
All Italian MEPs abstained or voted against, except Lara Comi of FI, Herbert Dorfmann of SVP and Marco Zullo of Renew Europe, who voted in favor. Sandro Gozi of Renew also voted in favor, but in 2019 he was elected on the French lists. Brothers of Italy, Forza Italia, Lega and the Democratic Party abstained. They voted against the M5S and the former M5S who joined the Greens. The Italians of Renew Europe were divided: Fabio Massimo Castaldo voted against while Nicola Danti abstained. The choice of Italian parties is striking, but is partly explained by the electoral campaign for the European elections (it also happened for the vote on the new Pact for Migration and Asylum).
The reasons of the Democratic Party
The Democratic Party abstained because it considers the text “excessively pejorative”, despite the reform having had the support of the socialist group: the proposal has the signature of the Commissioner for Economy Paolo Gentiloni and the vice-president of the EU Commission Valdis Dombrovskis (EPP). Furthermore, the difficult agreement between the EU countries was mediated by Pedro Sanchez’s Spain, which held the rotating presidency of the EU.
Gentiloni’s bitterness
Before the vote, Gentiloni recalled that «a lot of work had been done to correct the existing fiscal rules, rules that were so rigid that they were often not applied. What we got isn’t perfect. It’s a good compromise.” And after the passage in the chamber he explained, with a touch of bitterness, that the vote «is very positive, also because this compromise preserves some of the fundamental aspects of the Commission’s proposal, while modifying it»: it provides for greater gradualness in the adjustment paths of budget, the possibility for each country to design its own reform path and “thanks to the contribution of the EU Parliament, there is certainly greater space, compared to the existing rules, for investments” linked to defence, the co-financing of European funds and EU priority.
The positions of Fdi, Forza Italia and Lega
But yesterday FdI abstained because “the text still presents some critical points desired by the so-called frugal countries such as safeguarding debt sustainability” and represents an economic model “too linked to austerity”. Along the same FI line: «The new Pact is an incentive for austerity and a brake on growth», commented the group leader in the EU Parliament Martusciello, who did not participate in the vote. For the League it is “a failed reform”. Yet the Minister of Economy Giancarlo Giorgetti, from the Northern League, voted in favor of the agreement at the European level. But on several occasions he admitted that «we would have voted for the Commission’s proposal. Too bad that the large majority of countries would not have voted for it. And as is known, in these places we need to think through compromises.” He had announced his abstention. The M5S speaks of the “return of austerity”.
