Europe has broadly acknowledged Italy’s commitment to overcoming the crisis. This was Minister Giulio Terzi’s assertion on the television broadcast of “Otto e mezzo”, where he cited the “revival of credibility” and “full support for Italy” and “its government’s actions” of European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, on a visit to Rome at a special moment “a few hours after the downgrade” by Standard & Poor’s.
In any case, according to Terzi, the downgrade of Italy and other European countries is not the precursor of a dollar-euro war. “I would be careful about believing this to be a strike against the euro, which is not the wish of the U.S. administration”, the Minister stated, underscoring that the U.S. had expressed itself “clearly on the need for a strong Europe, both economically and on the security level”. Moreover, in Terzi’s opinion, there is no alternative to the euro. “I am convinced, as is the government”, he said, “that the euro is an irreversible process; European integration goes forward and there are no points of return, and “there is no need to be overly influenced” by the ratings agencies, the minister added.
Terzi downplayed the postponement of the Italy-Germany-France trilateral summit, saying that “three-way consultations” between Monti, Merkel and Sarkozy were “continuing” and that there would be a “three-party examination” before the 30 January European Council. The minister assured that a trilateral summit would be arranged shortly after the Brussels summit.
