Macron: “France is alongside Italy. Europe should stop being selfish “- La Stampa

French President Emmanuel Macron agreed yesterday to answer a series of written questions from the Press, the Republic and Corriere della Sera in the first interview with foreign media since the health emergency began, at the crucial moment when Europe divides response to be given to the crisis.

With the Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte you asked the European Council on Thursday to create eurobonds to face an epochal crisis. Germany and Holland have blocked. Is there a risk of implosion of the eurozone and the European Union?

«With Giuseppe Conte, Pedro Sanchez and six other heads of state and government, we addressed, before the European Council, a letter to Charles Michel to send a clear message: we will not overcome this crisis without strong European solidarity, in terms of health and budget. This is the starting point. The tools come later and we must be open in this regard: it may be a common debt capacity, whatever its name, or an increase in the EU budget to allow real support to the countries most affected by it crisis. At the Council on Thursday, ten eurozone countries, representing 60% of its GDP, explicitly supported this idea, it’s the first time! Some countries, including Germany, have expressed their reticence. We have decided to continue this fundamental debate, at the highest political level, in the coming weeks. We cannot abandon this battle. I prefer a Europe that accepts differences and debates rather than a facade unit that leads to immobility. If Europe can die, it is in not acting. Like Giuseppe Conte, I don’t want a Europe of the lowest common denominator. The moment is historic: France will fight for a Europe of solidarity, sovereignty and the future “.

What is the maximum time that Europe can wait and how high will the relaunch shock be?

«I don’t want to focus on a date or a figure, it wouldn’t make any sense. The strength of Mario Draghi when he speaks of “whatever it takes” in 2012, lies precisely in the fact that he gives no figures, but a signal of a determined and unlimited action. In this economic crisis, Europe made two very strong decisions, very quickly: on the monetary level, the European Central Bank decided on a massive, unprecedented support program; on the budgetary side, we have said that we will do whatever is necessary and we have started to implement it in each of our countries.
What is missing now is a clear sign of coordinated and supportive action. Does the European Union, the Eurozone, sum up perhaps in a monetary institution and in a set of rules, very flexible, which allow each State to act on its own? Or do we act together to finance our expenses, our needs in this vital crisis? I want this choice of solidarity to be made fully. The figure is secondary, it is this signal that counts, through the common debt or the common budget. We weren’t able to reach this milestone during the financial crisis; today we have to live up to it ».

Mario Draghi, former President of the ECB, recommends that European governments absorb the economic backlash despite a sharp increase in public debt. Do you share your recipe?
“I read with great interest the speech published by Mario Draghi this week. I share your reading of the crisis and believe that it says exactly this: national governments must act without limits and European solidarity must do its part. He also says that Europe has all the resources to do it, a solid financial system and a quality public service. The only question is his willingness to act, to do it together and to do it quickly: this is why I struggle, with Giuseppe Conte in particular “.

More generally, how do you rate the work of Christine Lagarde, who has been criticized?

«I approve and support it. The March 19 announcements were brave and indispensable. At what point would we be today if the ECB had not acted with so much force? This also shows one thing: that when Europe has strong institutions and the tools to act, we are all winners. It is one of the lessons we must learn for the post-crisis “.

On March 6, you went to the Antoine theater in Paris with your wife and sent the French the message that “life went on”, while Italy declared 4636 confirmed cases and 197 deaths. Why have you ignored the warning signs from Italy?

«We have absolutely not ignored these signs. I have faced this crisis with seriousness and seriousness from the beginning, when it started in China. I also faced it with clarity and humility, in respect of what our societies are: democratic and open societies, where information must be transparent, restrictions on our freedoms explained and balanced. At each stage I followed three essential principles: to base our decisions on scientific advice, to adapt to the evolution of the crisis, to take proportionate measures. When looking at the crisis from the beginning, we took the strongest measures in France as soon as possible; in the face of a similar number of cases, we adopted the measures of social restrictions a few days before our European partners. I do not give it any credit: because science has enlightened us and Italy has preceded us in this crisis that we have been able to draw lessons for ourselves. We learned from the painful experiences of your country and from the courageous decisions made by your government: many European countries considered these restrictions excessive, today they all implement them because they are indispensable in our war against the virus ».

You have repeatedly said that Europe had left Italy during the migrant crisis. But Italy, the country most affected by the epidemic, has once again felt abandoned by its European partners. Why didn’t a neighbor and friend country like France send aid first?

“Yes, I repeat what I said since Europe has not been up to par in the previous crises and I also partly take responsibility for France. But to make it clear, we Europeans often tend to see only our shortcomings and weaknesses. France is at the side of Italy: that’s why I kept going to Naples on February 27, despite the surge in the epidemic. We have proposed hospital beds in the South of France and have sent medical supplies. Europe as a whole has reacted earlier and more decisively than other crises of the past; when the ECB acts, for example, it protects us all and is a form of solidarity ».

Italy has received the help of authoritarian regimes such as China, Russia and Cuba. Don’t you think it is a shocking symbol?

«There is a lot of talk about Chinese or Russian aid, but why don’t we say that France and Germany have sent 2 million masks and tens of thousands of gowns to Italy? Today we launch European calls for the joint purchase of masks and respirators. It may be insufficient but it is already a beginning and we must not let ourselves be intoxicated by what our international partners and competitors say. We must also say that, on the other hand, Europeans rescued China at the beginning of the epidemic, when it was the most affected, by sending more than 50 tons of material. Europe must be proud and feel strong, because it is. But it must go much further. That is why I defend budgetary solidarity in managing the crisis and its consequences. Some countries act as if Italy or Spain were responsible for them: on the contrary, they are the first victims and this virus will not spare anyone. What worries me is the ” each for themselves ” disease: if we are not united, Italy, Spain and other countries could rightly say to their European partners: where were you while we were at the front? I don’t want a selfish and divided Europe ».

EU Member States have not coordinated in preparing measures to limit the pandemic. Do you now recommend a common approach for the lifting of isolation measures in the various countries, considering that a lack of concertation would risk frustrating efforts and putting the virus back into circulation?

«Absolutely, we must now anticipate and coordinate the exit measures from the health crisis. Of course, these measures will have to be adapted to each country: we will not ask the Italians or the French, who have undergone the restrictive measures before other European countries, to remain stuck pending the others. But if we don’t exchange information about these measures, if we don’t coordinate them, we will have a political and health problem. On the other hand, this is what we asked the European Commission to do in the letter of the nine countries sent on Wednesday and which we put on record to the European Council on Thursday ».

Many citizens in France and Italy wonder if they will still find a European area without frontiers and if they will be able to resume living as before. What do you think?

“As for the internal borders of the European Union, like the one we have with Italy, we have chosen not to close them because our personal and professional lives and our economies are integrated. We must do everything possible to stop the spread of the virus, but always acting as Europeans: coordinate our health measures, close our external borders to avoid exporting and importing the virus again, keep our internal borders open as much as possible to let workers and essential goods pass, show financial solidarity and, tomorrow, reduce Europe’s dependence on strategic production sectors, such as medicines and medical equipment. I know that the Italians and the French share this battle and this hope in Europe. And I want to reiterate my friendship with the Italian people who are showing a lot of courage in this difficult moment ».