The government, Europe and the necessary strategic vision
It is not enough to have wisely archived the unsustainable promises of the electoral campaign and to have concentrated a large part of the interventions planned for 2023 on the energy emergency. The Meloni executive is called to make more courageous and incisive choices. Federico Guiglia's notebook
Even the small electronic payment is part of the major objectives of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. Therefore – announces and admits the Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni -, the expected threshold of 60 euros for the so-called Pos "for me it is indicative and could be lower, there is obviously an interlocution with the European Commission".
The goal that the government set for itself with the decision to backtrack on digital was to reduce the costs falling on merchants. But the Court of Auditors had already warned that this reasonable intention could not be pursued either by reducing the obligation of electronic payment – under penalty of a fine -, or by raising the ceiling on the use of cash, because both of these measures help to combat tax evasion fiscal, i.e. to consistently implement the goal indicated by the recovery plan. An aim that is a duty for Italy in the interest of the economy and of all taxpayers harassed also because of those who evade. But it is also a right of attention for the European Union, interested in understanding whether the line of the Meloni government is in continuity with that of the Draghi government.
Yes and no, is the answer that can be obtained so far from these contradictory signals and from the Maneuver itself which, according to the judgments of entrepreneurs, trade unions, economists and institutions, is both encouraging and insufficient. The Court of Auditors also noted effective but inefficient coverage, underlining that the choices in the coming months on taxation, social security, assistance and public administration will be decisive. This is why it is so important to start off on the right foot with regard to the use of cash: it is the premise for the direction of travel.
The other issue is the definition of the reforms so that the recovery plan can unfold its effects in order to continue in Draghi's footsteps, that is, by keeping the public finances in balance and setting in motion the resources to revive the country. It is not enough to have wisely archived the unsustainable promises of the electoral campaign and to have concentrated a large part of the interventions planned for 2023 on the energy emergency. Nor are the appropriate changes to the citizen's income enough.
Faced with the prospect of a legislature government, i.e. for 5 years, and with Europe watching, the Meloni-executive is called to make more courageous and incisive choices. A strategic vision for economic policy.
(Published in L'Arena di Verona, Il Giornale di Vicenza and Bresciaoggi )
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/economia/il-governo-europa-e-la-necessaria-visione-strategica/ on Thu, 08 Dec 2022 06:35:35 +0000.