Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani has criticised the European Central Bank’s decision to raise rates and asked it to do the exact opposite to encourage growth.
The government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni (Fratelli d’Italia/ECR) has not been shy about criticising the European Central Bank (ECB) and its President, Christine Lagarde. On Wednesday, Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani (Forza Italia/EPP) joined in the criticism at the Rimini Meeting – an event organised by the influential lay Catholic group Communion and Liberation.
“Raising rates hurts our country’s growth. In China, to counter the housing bubble crisis, the interest rate was lowered. That is what should have been done, and it is the exact opposite of what the ECB did”, the minister explained.
As for Italy, Tajani outlined the path the government will take in the upcoming months, confirming it will proceed with cutting the tax wedge and lowering taxes on employees’ salaries, taxing 13th-month bonuses, overtime and production bonuses.
“Without growth, there is no way out of a complicated moment, independent of Italy’s will. It is obvious that we cannot do everything. We must prioritise families, businesses, defend the purchasing power of salaries, defend the purchasing power of pensions”, the new leader of Forza Italia (EPP), who took over after the death of the founder and president Silvio Berlusconi, explained.
Back in June, Tajani said he was disappointed with Lagarde because of her economic policy choices, stressing in particular that he disagreed with the fact that rate hike announcements were made well in advance, causing panic and more damage.
The government’s other deputy prime minister, Transport Minister and League (ID) leader Matteo Salvini, also hit out at the ECB, calling the rate hike “senseless and harmful”, especially for Italy.
(Federica Pascale | EURACTIV.it)
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