New pressure on the government from Europe: it is important to ratify the Mes

The European Stability Mechanism cannot wait, and Europe is once again putting pressure on the government. On the day when the heads of state and government of the EU meet in Brussels to discuss the economic-financial trend, while prudence is used on the one hand, determination is shown on the other. It was decided not to hold the traditional final ritual press conference. Neither the president of the European Commission nor the president of the European Council will go to the press room, probably due to the delicacy of issues on which the markets could respond in a disorganized way of reasoning and responses. In the line chosen, it is Paschal Donohoe, the president of the Eurogroup, who tears away the veil of silence. “Recent developments have underlined the importance of maintaining our approach and implementing existing agreements,” he says, referring to the collapse of Silicon Vallet Bank and the Credit Suisse crisis. Then the lunge. Keeping faith with existing commitments means “ratifying the reform of the Mes”, the intergovernmental body on whose transformation now only Italy is holding back. “It is important to ratify to ensure that the single resolution fund has the support agreed by the EU,” he insists.

The ESM reform plays a role in this process of completing the Banking Union, on which all but one EU member, Italy and its Meloni government, agree. Signed at the end of January 2021, from 1 January 2022 the bailout fund should have started providing money to the Single Resolution Fund, set up to restructure or liquidate banks in difficulty. Europe is lagging behind, and it is because of a country’s change of mind. The Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, has clearly stated that she does not intend to complete the parliamentary process until she is in charge of the government majority. Peremptory declarations that risk deteriorating relations with European partners.

Donohoe pushes to proceed as planned. He does it using “patriotic” logic, to those who make patriotism a qualifying trait of their work. The ratification of the treaty that reforms the Mes and the consequent contribution to the single resolution fund, he underlines “will also guarantee that if there are future problems in the banking system, national taxpayers will not have to pay them”. To the government of the Italians he says that this would be in the interest of the Italians.

The agenda for the second day of the European Council summit did not include a formal debate on the issue. Not in the room. But new calls come out of the room. And new pressures for Meloni.