How to deal with the reconstruction of the EU’s economy in the beginning stage of the pandemic’s overcoming, and after? Nine countries – mainly Mediterranean ones – would like to resort to a new collectivized public debt, issuing Eurobonds which all the countries could benefit from. Germany and three other states are refusing, probably believing that this debt would be badly spent by state administrations infiltrated by criminal organizations, or in any case historically unable to manage the resources they have well.
Having money in common with spendthrifts is unacceptable, and they ask for guarantees: social reforms to savings, pensions as late as possible.
They are negotiating. And between the two blocs there are compromises that are not accompanied by great manifestations of optimism or mutual trust. The reasons are the following: first, this will be a global crisis as it has never come since the end of the second world war. So, it is extremely difficult to assess the consequences for individual economies. Secondly, this crisis does not come at an expansionary moment in the world economy – which ended a few years ago – but in a recessionary scenario that is already difficult to deal with in.
This in a chaotic picture of all against all – we refer to the superpowers – and with a Europe that has just lost an important piece of the Union, Great Britain. It is understandable that each government thinks of its own citizens before European ones. For all German, Italian and French intellectuals it would be time to create critical mass, to take advantage of this pandemic in order to boldly explore new economic mechanisms and perhaps reallocate productions.
It is also important to review the distribution of wealth among the social classes, fight job insecurity and undeclared work, plan the building expansion, re-evaluate the medium and small producers in social function and not only from the point of view of the Web giants’ economic convenience. It is certain that great sacrifices will have to be asked to the workers and, perhaps, even a small stagnation in growth. But they will be accepted only in the presence of concrete and precise promises of recovery, which at least benefit the future of the next generation. Globalization can wait.
