“Everyone understood that the well-being accumulated by generations of Italians is at risk and that a medium-term vision is needed to ensure the sustainability of public and private debt positions and the recovery of one of the strongest economies in the developed world. We are facing an adverse situation with dimensions of catastrophe, unpredictable, exceptional, which requires, to be addressed, not only extraordinary means, but also the consent and full participation of all the energies of the Country, the full and convinced solidarity of the other European Countries, and the strategic sharing of EU institutions. To get out of this downfall you need clarity in the short and medium term objectives, but above all the involvement and consensus of the social partners. Only the full consent of the citizens determines the legitimacy of the actions taken, which move on the delicate threshold of the compression of fundamental rights". This is one of the passages of President Treu's hearing on DEF 2020 (Economic and Financial Document) hold before the Joint Budget Commissions of the Senate and Chamber on 28April.
“The main problem to set up the recovery will be to continue guaranteeing the sustainability of the public debt which has reached an all-time high. In 2020 it is expected to rise by 21% compared to the 134.8 in 2019 GDP. In addition, Italy will probably be one of the countries most affected by the pandemic. The services and tourism sectors are the ones in greatest difficulty and represent a very important part of our production system and, as they are mainly characterized by small and medium-sized enterprises, they are particularly vulnerable to this shock", it is read in the memorandum filed in Parliament.
At the CNEL Assembly on 22 April, the social partners shared "a document of proposals which outlines - in ten points - the indispensable interventions to be able, at the same time, to combine the theme of overcoming the health emergency with the development of measures aimed at preserving the cohesion of society, avoiding the permanent contraction of production capacity, the collapse of employment and ultimately an unprecedented socio-economic crisis. With reference to health, investments are needed to strengthen the National Health System so that it is able to guarantee the essential levels of assistance and face any health emergencies in the future in safety conditions and not with emergency decrees".
The CNEL underlines that the difficulty of the moment "requires certain rules, simple to interpret and clearly communicated because the abundance of information, the multiplication, sometimes even the overlap, of the sources do not provide certainties to traders, workers and citizens".
On the school front, “it is necessary that the activities will resume as soon as possible and safely. It is necessary to continue with the digitization process started in this period, to implement it also in order to avoid the increase in early school leaving."
“The government must not underestimate the centrality of safety at work as a means by which to reactivate businesses affected by the suspensions imposed. During 2020, significant economic resources, at least equal to those of the Industry 4.0 project, will have to be used to allow companies to invest in safety at work, with the acquisition of tools and advanced technology, enjoying tax credits and various concessions. The dramatic health crisis should be an opportunity to rethink the areas on which our country system must immediately take action: scientific and technological research, renewable energy, tourism, logistics, digital and connectivity.
The simplification of the decision-making processes and the action of the PA, the transparency and the certainty of the rules appear here as the obligatory step to successfully implement the reconstruction policies and realize a total redesign of the country's architecture, through a systematic growth and development plan that reduces existing inequalities and, above all, does not create new ones. Furthermore, once the health emergency phase has been overcome, it is necessary to rethink and define, in compliance with the Constitution, the factors and reasons that can limit ordinary processes of democracy and the restriction of people's freedom of movement ", is written in the document containing the proposals.
For CNEL, moreover, "Once the urgent measures have been completed, it will be necessary to set up a strategy for relaunching economic development through technological innovations combined with the European Green Deal, which remains the key EU strategy for the next decades. At national level, work will be carried out on the implementation of the Green and Innovation Deal that the budget law has financed for the three-year period 2020-2022.
Future growth must start from the elaboration of a long-term strategy (24-36 months) that defines the lines of development of the economy (within which the implementation of the Green and Innovation Deal is inserted which the budget law funded for the three-year period 2020-2022) and which guides the investment policies of companies".
"In addition to income support measures focused on the various forms of social safety nets (CIGO, CIGS, FIS and measures in derogation) and unemployment benefits (NASPi) it will also be necessary to provide for an effective integrated system of active policies, currently non-existent. The DEF makes no mention of this. Although unemployment is expected to rise to 12%, presumably even higher if the recovery will not be "V" shaped as expected by the IMF but more likely "U" shaped, it is not expected to implement "extraordinary" measures in addition to the ordinary ones (which as it is do not work) for the placement of workers looking for a job. The CIG will exhaust its function as a social shock-absorber in the next few months and massive interventions will be necessary to train and relocate workers also with reference to the most technologically advanced sectors", concludes CNEL.