What does Mattiolo (Draghi’s diplomatic adviser) think of the US, China and Germany
Ambassador Luigi Mattiolo has been appointed diplomatic advisor of Palazzo Chigi. Here's who will be Draghi's personal / sherpa representative for the G7 and G20 summits and what he thinks about the US, China and Germany
"China with 206 billion euros (2019 figure) is now the first partner in terms of trade and in this perspective can be read the commitment made in the last days of the German Presidency of the EU Council to achieve a general agreement on the investment agreement with China (CAI) ".
This is what Luigi Mattiolo, diplomatic adviser to Prime Minister Mario Draghi, recently said.
WHAT AMBASSADOR MATTIOLO WILL DO AT PALAZZO CHIGI
Ambassador Luigi Mattiolo will be diplomatic advisor and personal / Sherpa representative of the Prime Minister for the G7 and G20 summits, starting today.
THE CAREER OF AMBASSADOR MATTIOLO
Ambassador Mattiolo has been on a diplomatic career since 1981 and has held the functions of Head of Mission at the offices in Tel Aviv, Ankara and Berlin. This was announced by a press release from the Prime Minister.
IT HAPPENS (ONCE AGAIN) TO AMBASSADOR PIETRO BENASSI
With the appointment at Palazzo Chigi, for the second time the ambassador Luigi Mattiolo succeeds the ambassador Pietro Benassi, diplomatic adviser to the former premier Conte. The first time was in 2018, when Mattiolo was appointed ambassador of Italy to Berlin, a role held by Benassi since 2014.
THE RECENT INTERVIEW BY MATTIOLO
But what does Mattiolo think of Germany, the USA and China? Here is what the ambassador said recently in an interview .
THE ROLE OF GERMANY
"With regard to Germany's role in the EU, it is important to underline how during the German Presidency – in the second half of 2020 – a fundamental agreement was reached for the new Multiannual Financial Framework of the Union", declared Ambassador Mattiolo. "In this circumstance, the German government was able to demonstrate vision, foresight and courage, understanding the importance of strengthening European solidarity, of gathering together financial resources to plan the future of the continental economy through the Ngeu plan and starting to strengthen the lever of European fiscal policy, to be combined with the expansionary policy carried out without hesitation by the ECB ”.
GERMAN ATTENTION TO THE INDO-PACIFIC, SAHEL, NORTH AFRICA AND LATIN AMERICA REGIONS
For Mattiolo, “Germany's vision remains linked to the guidelines of foreign policy defined by the German government: European cohesion and sovereignty, transatlantic partnership, multilateralism, promotion of democracy and defense of human rights. At the same time, these areas – which I would define traditional – of Berlin's foreign policy, are accompanied by growing attention to the Indo-Pacific area (which is the subject of an ad hoc strategy presented in recent months), the Sahel and North Africa (I recall in in particular the Berlin Conference on Libya), as well as Latin America ”.
HOW BERLIN IS MOVING ON PUBLIC DEBT
There was no shortage of news in Berlin on public finance and economic policy. The ambassador in fact highlighted that “the pandemic has inevitably led to a suspension of the debt brake rule provided for in the Constitution. The government and public opinion have fully understood the gravity of the crisis and accepted the concept of "borrow to spend" in a difficult economic phase as never before. A particularly significant figure that emerged last December – in the context of the approval of the German Budget Law – is represented by the level of public spending (almost 500 billion euros) and new debt for almost 180 billion euros, equal to double the amount initially budgeted, reflecting how much the effects of the second wave of the pandemic were also felt in Germany. This dynamic will also have repercussions on the stock of public debt in 2021 (72.5% of GDP compared to 59.5% in 2019), however lower than the level reached in the financial crisis (around 82% in 2010) and on a downward trajectory since 2022 (in 2024 the debt / GDP ratio should be below 69%) ".
RELATIONS WITH WASHINGTON
With regard to relations with the United States, Mattiolo stressed that "Germany clearly welcomed Biden's victory in the White House and emphasized the issues on which strong political convergence is expected between the two sides of the Atlantic: change climate, multilateralism or the fight against the pandemic. A series of open questions in economic, political and security matters remain on the table, but certainly the relationship between Berlin and Washington will be a priority for the next German government, whatever its composition ".
CHINA, FIRST PARTNER IN TERMS OF COMMERCIAL EXCHANGE
Finally, the ambassador also spoke about Beijing. "China with 206 billion euros (2019 figure) is now the first partner in terms of trade and in this perspective can be read the commitment made in the last days of the German Presidency of the EU Council to achieve a general agreement on the investment agreement with China (CAI) ".
THE CURRICULUM OF LUIGI MATTIOLO (FROM THE MAECI SITE)
Ambassador Luigi Mattiolo was born in Rome in 1957. After earning a degree in political science from the University of Rome in 1980, he entered a diplomatic career in 1981 and began his professional career at the Farnesina in the Directorate General for Emigration and Social Affairs .
In 1983 he was appointed Second Secretary at the Italian Embassy in Moscow, a position he held until 1986, when he was appointed First Secretary at the Italian Embassy in Bern.
From 1988 to 1992 he held the position of First Secretary at the Italian Embassy in Belgrade. To get to the years closest to us, 1997 to 2001, he holds the position of Councilor at the Permanent Representation of Italy to the European Union in Brussels.
In 2001 he was appointed First Counselor to the Permanent Representation at the UN in New York, a position he held until 2004. In 2004, after his appointment as Minister Plenipotentiary, he returned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at the Directorate General for European Integration, with the role of European Correspondent and Coordinator of activities related to the Common Foreign and Security Policy.
Between 2005 and 2008 he held the position of Minister at the Permanent Representation to the Atlantic Council in Brussels. In September 2008 he was appointed Ambassador of Italy to Tel Aviv, where he will remain for the next four years.
In 2012 he returned to the Farnesina as Director General for the European Union, a position he held until February 2015. In 2013 he was promoted to the rank of Ambassador. From March 2015 to November 2018 he was Ambassador of Italy to Turkey. At the end of 2018 he was appointed Ambassador of Italy to Berlin.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/cosa-pensa-mattiolo-consigliere-diplomatico-di-draghi-di-usa-cina-e-germania/ on Tue, 16 Feb 2021 11:38:20 +0000.