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Talking Europe welcomes former Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta, now president of the Jacques Delors Institute. Letta has been tasked by EU institutions with producing a report on the future of the European single market, which is expected to be discussed by the bloc’s leaders next spring. He says the single market is subject to internal and external pressures and that common solutions must be found. It also calls for a “tailor-made” stability and growth pact that takes into account the nuances between EU member states, as well as the impact of the crises the EU has faced over the past three years. .
Letta fiercely defends the EU single market, which enshrines four freedoms: the freedom of movement of people, goods, capital and services.
“The single market is the jewel of European Union“, he said. “But today it faces an external threat from the great powers of the world and an internal threat. And the internal threat is the fragmentation of the single market. Take for example telecommunications. Telecommunications constitutes one of the most important subjects for the competitiveness of the EU. But the single market is fragmented into 27, so we do not have great champions on the same level as the biggest American or Chinese companies. This is a problem in today’s world. We must therefore debate how to avoid this fragmentation and strengthen the single market. » Letta reminds us that the EU “will include over the next decade countries like Ukraine and the west Balkansthe single market will therefore be larger.”
The former Italian prime minister warns of fragmentation if EU member states rely too much on national subsidies to support their industries. “During the Covid period, we had to increase the use of state aid. But the future European Union cannot rely solely on national subsidies, as this would lead to fragmentation. The ‘small’ countries of Europe are very opposed to the use of state aid by the largest countries. Europe is divided and we must find common solutions.”
We also discuss the ongoing negotiations on the flexibility of the EU Stability and Growth Pact. If EU member states fail to reach a compromise, the old criteria could be reapplied on January 1, 2024: budget deficits should be kept below 3% of GDP and public debt below 60%. to GDP.
“The President of the Commission Ursula von der Leyen and Commissioner Gentiloni are working very well on this to try to find a compromise,” says Letta. “I hope they succeed. Otherwise, January will be an unstable month; a month of uncertainty. I think we need a more tailor-made stability pact, because there are many differences (between member states). And this is not due to the “bad behavior” of indebted countries. We have experienced many crises: Covid, the recession, the war in Ukraine. »
Asked about the migration crisis, Letta says: “If you look at the many crises we have experienced over the last 15 years since the financial crisis, we learned the lessons and we changed our toolbox. But when it comes to migration, we don’t have a new toolbox. We still have very poor tools and that is why it is absolutely urgent to obtain political will from the Member States. And I must say very frankly that if we cannot achieve unanimity at 27, it is perhaps better to go further with fewer than 27 countries. Otherwise, we risk granting a veto to countries that have a completely different approach to migration and integration.”
“The experience of the last ten years leads me to be pessimistic,” he continues. “At the same time, we cannot continue without a toolbox on one of the key issues in our relationship with voters. The risk of a rise in anti-Europeanism is close to us,” he concludes.
Produced by Sophie Samaille, Juliette Laurain, Agnès Le Cossec and Isabelle Romero.