The strong response to Trump’s duties to provide concrete support for companies in difficulty comes from Italy. Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti proposed to suspend the stability pact and the growth of the European Union to allow member countries to intervene with public aid. The announcement came during the Ambrosetti Forum In Cernobbio, where the minister explained how, in light of new commercial tensions, it is necessary to put all the States of the Union in the conditions of acting in support of national companies.
The importance of article 25
According to Giorgetti, the current structure of European economic governance contains two fundamental regulatory references: article 26 and theArticle 25 of Directive 2024/1263. The first introduces national safeguard clauses, already used to allow higher costs in the military. The second, less popular, allows a temporary deviation from the clear spending path established at European level in the event of severe economic situation. Giorgetti believes that the application of article 25 is consistent with the current situation and useful to avoid imbalances between states with different budget margins.
The minister specified that the proposal does not aim for one deregulation Total as happened at the beginning of the pandemic, but represents a targeted measure to face an economic crisis generated by international commercial policies. Giorgetti, during his intervention at the Ambrosetti forum in Cernobbio, also stressed that Italy starts from a more rigid budget condition than other countries and therefore needs to flexible tools To face the duties and act without compromising the sustainability of public finances.
Fight inequalities within the EU
In presenting his proposal to suspend the stability pact, Giorgetti reiterated the desire to maintain a prudent and realistic approach in the management of public finances. The goal is to avoid repeating an asymmetrical mechanism between European states, where those who have more budget margins can mobilize resources and tools disproportionately compared to others. In this context he mentioned the recent extraordinary expenditure plan launched by Germany for weapons and infrastructures, as an example of intervention that risks accentuating inequalities.
The Minister of Economy and Finance also highlighted the need to urgently face the tax issue. The announcement by the Trump administration to want to overcome the first pillar of the international taxation developed by the OECD requires Europe to reconsider their position. Currently, taxation on large digital companies remains confined to national measures In some countries, including Italy, France and Spain, while a common and structured initiative is missing at European level.
What is the stability pact
The stability and growth pact is a set of tax rules adopted by the European Union to guarantee healthy public budgets in the member countries. Introduced in 1997, the pact provides that the public deficit does not exceed 3% of the GDP and the public debt remains below 60% of the GDP. Over the years it has been the subject of various changes to adapt it to the different economic conjunctures.
In 2020, with the health emergency from COVID-19the union has decided to activate the so -called “General safeguard clause“, Which has temporarily suspended the application of the pact to allow Member States to increase public spending without incurring sanctions. This suspension has remained in force until the end of 2023.
In 2024 a new one entered into force European Economic Governance Reformsanctioned by the aforementioned Directive 2024/1263. The new system introduces a more personalized approach, based on medium -term plans developed by each country, with a 4 -year horizon, extendable to 7. The monitoring of public accounts now focuses on Net primary expense And the rules provide flexibility clauses related to strategic investments and exceptional situations.
Among the main novelties there is article 25, which allows you to temporarily deviate from the agreed public spending process, if a negative economic situation of significant relevance occurs. This tool could become central to the framework outlined by Giancarlo Giorgetti, offering a regulatory basis to support European companies in a context of global commercial crisis.
