Gentiloni: “Moderate expansion for eurozone. France, Spain, and Germany better than expected”

Brussels – That glimpsed and hoped-for economic acceleration seems to be materializing on the horizon of a eurozone now looked at with different, more optimistic eyes. The Commissioner for the Economy, Paolo Gentiloni, has no doubts: things are going positively and differently than budgeted. He arrives for the Eurogroup proceedings and confides to the press, “I will describe the economic situation as expanding moderately.” This means confirmation of 0.8 per cent growth—confirmed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF)—with, at the member state level, “better-than-expected expansion in Germany, France and Spain.”

The Commission will not produce its economic forecasts until ten days from now (Nov. 15). Still, Gentiloni is already offering a small foretaste that will not please Italy, the only country among the major eurozone economies not mentioned by the Economy Commissioner. The concern harboured by Transport Minister Matteo Salvini is, once again, materialising, i.e., Spain doing better than Italy to the point of undermining and ousting it from the podium of economic engines, as confided by the vice-premier himself at the ninth edition of How Can We Govern Europe, the Eunews and Gea‘s Europe Appointment.

In any case, the situation is not worrisome overall. To the euro area economic ministers, Gentiloni also shares his thoughts on inflation, which has rebounded, rising from 1.7 per cent in September to 2 per cent expected for October. “We do not believe the latest estimates will cause a deviation from the more general deflation trajectory,” argues the Italian commissioner, who spares no effort on what is likely to be the real challenge for the immediate future: financing the European policy agenda.

“For common goals, I think it’s important to have common sources of funding,” Gentiloni said, marking distance with Ursula von der Leyen, outgoing and incoming president of the EU Commission who put the brakes on the “defence-bond” hypothesis, European debt securities to finance defence revitalization. Yet he believes that precisely on issues “such as common defence and technological backwardness,” the EU should pool resources. “I think finding forms of common financing is one of the challenges for the next Commission.”

For some, however, the challenges will be other. “Reforms and investment remain critically important, especially for those countries that will demand a seven-year adjustment path” under the new stability pact. A message for Italy and its government, from which efforts to get public accounts in order are expected like few others.