Here are the trips of Draghi to the regions for the papocchi on vaccines
What the Prime Minister, Mario Draghi, said in the Senate about the regions and beyond. The full text of Draghi's communications ahead of the European Council on 25 and 26 March
“It is necessary to protect the weakest groups. As far as the over 80s are concerned, important regional differences persist, which are very difficult to accept. While some Regions follow the instructions of the Ministry of Health, others neglect their elders in favor of groups that have priority probably on the basis of some of their contractual strength ”.
This is the broadside set today by the Prime Minister, Mario Draghi, to the regions that go in no particular order, not respecting the central indications.
The case of Tuscany in particular, today revealed by the newspaper La Stampa, is striking.
The premier noted that even on vaccinations everyone must remain "united", "just as we have been suffering together in the previous months". Consequently, even on the vaccine front, “all Regions must abide by the priorities defined by the Ministry of Health. The Government will make all the data public on the Prime Minister's website ».
And «while the vaccination campaign continues it is good to start and think and plan thereopening – continued Draghi -. We are looking carefully at the data on infections but, if the epidemiological situation allows it, we will begin to reopen the school in the first place . And we will begin to reopen primary schools and kindergartens also in the red areas when the current restrictions expire, that is, hopefully, immediately after Easter ».
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The communications of the Prime Minister, Mario Draghi, to the Senate of the Republic in view of the European Council on 25 and 26 March
Honorable President.
Honorable Senators and Senators.
Communications from the Government to the Chambers before the European Council allow Parliament to be fully involved in the topics of discussion with our partners.
This is an important step to give you an account of the positions we intend to take.
In my communications, I intend to describe the main issues for the attention of the Council which will begin tomorrow: the response to the COVID-19 pandemic; action on the single market, industrial policy and digital transformation; relations with Russia and the situation in the eastern Mediterranean.
First of all, however, I would like to express strong satisfaction with the participation of the President of the United States, Joe Biden, in a segment of the European Council.
Its presence confirms the mutual desire to give new impetus to relations between the European Union and the United States after a long period.
In my first speech in the Senate, I indicated that anchoring to transatlantic relations is, together with Europeanism, one of the pillars of this government's foreign policy.
We intend to pursue it both bilaterally and in multilateral areas, such as the Italian presidency of the G20.
COVID-19
On March 26, 2020, the European Council recognized the COVID-19 pandemic as an unprecedented challenge for Europe.
One year on, we must do everything possible for a full and rapid resolution of the health crisis.
We know how to do it: we have four safe and effective vaccines.
Three are already in the pipeline, while a fourth, that of Johnson & Johnson, will be available from April.
Now our common goal must be to vaccinate as many people as possible, as quickly as possible.
I want to convey a message of trust to you, and to all Italians.
I have repeated in recent weeks the government is determined to carry out the vaccination campaign with maximum intensity. And we are already working to compensate for the delays of recent months.
We must do this for the health of citizens, for the education of our children, and for the recovery of the economy.
The acceleration of the vaccination campaign is already visible in the data.
In the first three weeks of March, the average daily dose was nearly 170,000 doses per day, more than double that in the previous two months.
This occurred despite the temporary blocking of AstraZeneca administration, which was partially offset by an increase in vaccinations with Pfizer.
But our goal is to quickly bring the rate of administration to half a million a day.
Accelerating the vaccination campaign is essential to curb the infection, to return to normal and to avoid the emergence of new variants.
Compared to the rest of Europe, things are already quite good here now. For vaccines made, Italy is second after Spain, but for the well-known reasons the European Union is behind many other countries.
In the United Kingdom, just to give an example, the vaccination campaign is proceeding more rapidly, even if it must be said that the people who received both doses in number are comparable to those in Italy.
But let's see what we have to learn from that experience and also from that of other countries.
Obviously they started two months earlier, also for the known reasons. But a large number of vaccination sites are used there, and a large number of people are licensed to administer the vaccines.
As well as obviously the recall of the second dose has been moved over time compared to what happens in Europe.
In short, what we have to learn is that once we have efficient logistics, and we have it, with less formal requirements and with greater pragmatism, we also arrive at a greater speed.
Proceeding promptly with the administration is important.
But it is equally crucial to first vaccinate our elderly and frail fellow citizens, who have the most to fear for the consequences of the virus.
We have already achieved important results: 86% of guests in nursing homes have already received a dose of the vaccine and over two thirds have completed the vaccination cycle.
A recent study by the Istituto Superiore di Sanità has estimated that the number of new cases of Covid-19 diagnosed in RSAs between the end of February and the beginning of March has remained substantially stable, against a clear increase in the incidence in the general population.
As for the vaccination coverage of those over 80, unfortunately important regional differences persist, which are very difficult to accept. While some regions follow the provisions of the Ministry of Health, others neglect their elders in favor of groups that have priority probably on the basis of some of their bargaining strength.
We must be united in the exit from the pandemic as we have been suffering together in the previous months.
All regions must comply with the priorities indicated by the Ministry of Health.
In times of pandemic, even if the final decisions are up to the government, as also recalled by a recent sentence of the Constitutional Court, I am fully aware that only with sincere collaboration between the State and the Regions, in the name of the Unification of Italy, success it will be full.
The government intends to ensure maximum transparency of vaccine data and will make all data public on the website of the Presidency of the Council Region by Region, age category by age category.
While the vaccination campaign continues, it is good to start and think and plan for reopening. We are looking carefully at the data on infections but, if the epidemiological situation allows it, we will begin to reopen the school in the first place. And we will begin to reopen primary schools and kindergartens also in the red areas when the current restrictions expire, that is, hopefully, immediately after Easter.
At the European level, we must demand full compliance with contractual commitments from pharmaceutical companies.
The European Union must make full use of all available tools, including the EU Regulation for the export of vaccines, approved on January 30th.
This regulation sheds light on the distribution of vaccines outside the EU, in particular to countries that are not in vulnerable conditions, and we believe and have shown it should be applied when necessary.
The pandemic makes clear the opportunity to invest in vaccine production capacity in Europe.
We need to build a supply chain that is not vulnerable to external shocks and decisions. And we have already started, supported by the government, to establish partnership agreements with international manufacturers for production in Italy.
The European Commission has set up a Task Force, led by Commissioner Thierry Breton, to strengthen continental production.
We often talk about strategic autonomy. It is often talked about in reference to defense and security, the single market. But I believe the first strategic autonomy is when it comes to vaccines today.
Security is also about raw materials and the value chains of the ecological transition.
Global public health requires a common commitment from all major international players to the most vulnerable countries.
On the other hand, with such an insidious virus, no one will be really safe until we all are.
Italy is fully aware of this, just as it is also aware that reinforced European credibility on vaccines is needed in order to have genuine international solidarity in this field.
The COVAX Device is the best tool to achieve this goal.
Acceding states include the United States and China.
The European Union participates in a conspicuous way: the European Commission has in fact committed 1 billion euros.
Italy was among the first countries to contribute to it in 2020, with 86 million euros.
The great merit of COVAX is to guarantee the distribution of vaccines according to the actual needs of the recipient countries, and not based on the political or economic or geopolitical interest of the donors.
So far, it has already secured deliveries of nearly 30 million vaccine doses to 50 countries.
Our hope is to strengthen this mechanism and make it ever more effective.
The Italian Presidency of the G20 has placed global health and the strengthening of international cooperation in health matters at the center of its agenda.
The World Health Summit, which we will host in Rome on May 21, together with the European Commission, will play a leading role in this.
We intend to discuss with other countries the experiences made in the fight against COVID-19.
We want to work right now to improve our preparedness for future pandemic events and support international capacities for research.
Italian research and industry in the life sciences sector are already at the forefront at European and world level, and we will do everything we can to ensure that they continue to remain there.
On March 17, 2021, the European Commission presented a proposal aimed at creating a "digital green certificate" to allow free and safe movement of citizens in the EU.
The goal is to give, within 3 months, a digital certificate to those who have been vaccinated, have undergone a diagnostic test for SARS-CoV-2, or have recovered.
Freedom of movement must go hand in hand with the guarantee of health.
However, this objective must be achieved without discrimination and in compliance with the protection of the sensitive data of European citizens. It is a complex project. The Commission will have to present detailed guidelines, and the Member States will have to be able to make it operational.
DEVELOPMENT: SINGLE MARKET, INDUSTRIAL POLICY, DIGITAL
The European Council will also deal with issues relating to the single market, industrial policy and digitization.
There is no real need for me to reiterate the importance of the single market for our development and for the process of European integration.
From 1992 to 2018, exports between European countries grew to reach 20% of the Union's gross domestic product.
Thus demonstrating that a single, cohesive European market with the same standards also allows for the development of intra-European exports, so we will gradually have to depend less and less on the rest of the world for our exports, as happens to all large markets, all large countries.
And then the value chains have grown a lot, across the various European countries.
Foreign direct investment from the rest of the EU to Italy has also increased with the strengthening of the single market.
In essence, defending the uniqueness of the market means defending Italian companies, which benefit greatly from it.
Some common industrial policy initiatives can help strengthen Europe's innovation capacity, especially in those sectors where the EU has lagged behind.
I am thinking of the growth of new large companies operating in the information and communication technologies (ICT) sector.
The so-called “Digital Compass”, proposed by the European Commission on 9 March, lists the objectives to strengthen Europe's role in the digital economy, in terms of skills and infrastructures.
It will not be easy, given the gap that has built up with the United States and China.
This process will require profound changes in worker training, entrepreneur culture and public administration processes.
In Italy, the Next Generation EU program offers an enormous opportunity: as recalled by Minister Colao in his parliamentary hearing, 20% of the funds destined to finance the European recovery and resilience plans relate precisely to digital transformation.
But the development of these new sectors cannot be separated from an equitable distribution of their revenues.
We believe that the European Council must move towards a global and consensual solution on international digital taxation, by mid-2021, within the OECD.
I believe it is a possible goal, thanks to the collaboration with the new administration of the United States, and therefore we intend to commit ourselves to this front. In other words, we see a certain degree of openness, a certain degree of willingness from the administration of a country that in the past had instead shown complete closure on the possibility of having a digital tax.
The Italian presidency of the G20 is a particularly suitable occasion to do so.
RUSSIA AND TURKEY
During the Council, we will also have an information point on the future of relations between the European Union and the Russian Federation.
And then we will also discuss the state of the eastern Mediterranean, an opportunity to take stock of relations between the European Union and Turkey.
The European Council will build on the report on EU-Turkey relations presented by High Representative Josep Borrell, following the conclusions of the December 2020 European Council.
The European Union needs to work on concrete proposals for a “positive agenda” that favors a constructive dynamic, also in terms of regional stability. In other words, it is easy to cultivate oppositions in these fields, it is much better to try to build future relationships.
There are many issues on which this positive attitude is important. The first is the space for collaboration on migration, on the fight against terrorism, on the customs union.
In this regard, yesterday with President Erdogan I examined the importance of avoiding divisive initiatives and the need to respect human rights.
The Turkish abandonment of the Istanbul Convention represents a serious step backwards.
The protection of women from violence, but in general the defense of human rights in all countries, are a fundamental European value. I would say even more, they are an identity value for the European Union.
CONCLUSIONS
We must reaffirm our commitment, as national governments and parliaments, to building a Europe that welcomes young people and trains them as children, not as an often underpaid work reserve.
A better future for a united Europe passes through concrete action on employment, especially among young people, on equal opportunities, on social rights.
We want to organize and deal with these issues in a "Social Summit" which will be organized on 7-8 May by the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
And it is the theme that we must put at the center of the Conference on the Future of Europe which will start on 9 May. Young people and youth employment: this is at the heart of the future of Europe. For this event we urge the active participation of all European citizens and national parliaments.
The exit from the pandemic represents the main challenge of all European governments, but it is not the only one. And we now have an attitude of those who push other partners and are themselves aware of the need to act urgently, effectively, without wasting a moment.
I am sure that, thanks to your support, we will be able to better direct and certainly make Italy's voice much stronger in Europe and in other international contexts. Thank you.
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THE REPLICATION INTERVENTION
The reply by the Prime Minister, Mario Draghi, at the end of the debate in the Senate on the communications made in view of the European Council of 25 and 26 March.
I would like to thank everyone for the support I have had in your speeches and which undoubtedly make these international passages much stronger.
And also for another reason that came to me now to say: these international discussions, if they have a parliamentary passage like this or like others, are perceived not as elite solutions, but as solutions widely shared with all democracy, with all society. of this country. So thanks for that too.
I also thank Senator Romani, whom I do not see now, for his advice on communication which I will certainly treasure in the future.
So let's start with foreign policy. The Italian government's foreign policy line is to support the national unity government in Libya, with the aim of reaching elections in early December.
In the meantime it is necessary that the ceasefire be respected and what it seems is that there are encouraging developments on this front in the sense that various mercenary components and do not begin to leave the country.
I myself will pay a visit to Libya, I believe on 6 or 7 April, however in the first week of April. Here it is quite clear that Italy defends – in Libya, in the eastern Mediterranean, but almost everywhere – its national interests and international cooperation in the field of security with its strategic partners.
If there were conflicting interests, Italy must obviously have no doubt about defending its national interests. Nor must he, Senator Casini, have awe about which partner he is; and on the other hand it seems to me, in the course of my life, that I have always shown extreme independence in defending the fundamental values of Europe and the nation.
In terms of vaccination, I thank you for all the contributions.
I don't know if there have been mistakes or not, I don't want to waste time on what has been, certainly there has been a great disappointment of all European citizens. This is out of the question.
Now things are better, the Commissioner in charge of this, so only for a month I think, he is very good and the results are beginning to show.
It is necessary, I was saying now, to look to the future.
As far as European coordination is concerned, this must always be sought. It is necessary to work continuously to strengthen it. If it doesn't work out in these dramatic moments, where time is extremely precious, you also need to find answers yourself.
Obviously we demand compliance with the contracts by the multinationals that produce the vaccines. On the other hand, you have seen that Italy was the first to have its action based on three pillars: to demand rigorous respect; sanction or block exports; prompt replacement of missing vaccines.
Indeed, there was a decrease in vaccination only for one day, the next day the lack of vaccines was almost compensated with another vaccine with the same characteristics.
I repeat: we must look at the experience of other countries to learn. These are new episodes. It is learning every day. It is unfair to blame for past mistakes by not thinking about the newness of the experience. So we learn that efficient logistics can pursue its goals much faster if there is also a certain pragmatism in the administration of vaccines, in the identification of vaccine sites.
Basically in the de-bureaucratization of the vaccine administration process. And there we have to learn. And I believe there is no doubt.
Trying to look to the future, trying to resume the message of trust that must come out of this European Council, we must first begin to think about reopening. In particular, starting with school.
On other issues, namely the progress of the European Union and indeed of the Euro area towards a more integrated Union, with the adoption of a common budget or in any case the beginning of a journey towards fiscal union, the discussion of the rules of the stability pact is not included in the agenda of this council, where the only hint that is made is the fact that the safeguard clauses that suspend the procedures of the stability pact are said to have to be reactivated in 2023.
I believe that the discussion for a different stability pact, for different rules, which by now everyone feels that they must be different, will last a long time, in the meantime this year but also in 2022.
These are a very long time, we will have time to discuss these issues many times in the future, today is not on the agenda, I do not think it is touched on as a particular theme, but it is clear that we keep a close eye on these things, so you will be regularly informed.
I think I'm done.
Good morning thank you.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/ecco-le-bordate-di-draghi-alle-regioni-per-i-papocchi-sui-vaccini/ on Wed, 24 Mar 2021 14:31:37 +0000.