The authentic speech is the text of the speech actually delivered<\/p>\n
President Cicchitto,<\/p>\n
Minister Lorenzin,<\/p>\n
Minister Calenda,<\/p>\n
Mr Borghini,<\/p>\n
Ladies and Gentlemen,<\/p>\n
I wish to thank President Cicchitto and the Associazione Riformismo e Libert\u00e0\u00a0for inviting me today.<\/p>\n
The issues being discussed at this Conference are the very essence of Government activity: labour, growth and development.\u00a0These key words have always constituted the core of my political mission. They are concrete and vital issues that should always animate the political debate.<\/p>\n
Let us begin with a fact:\u00a0today our economy is back on track and even exports are growing.\u00a0But we can and must do more!<\/p>\n
More needs to be done to support the middle class\u00a0that is the pillar of our economy and that has always been the hardest hit in difficult times and during economic shocks.<\/p>\n
We need to do more for our\u00a0young\u00a0job-seekers who are our best investment,\u00a0now not in the future, if we want to grow at a faster pace.<\/p>\n
We must defend\u00a0Europe, the common market and the euro, that ensure the best context for funding our growth. If we were to fail to do so, we would be taking a step backwards.<\/p>\n
As you know,\u00a0economic diplomacy is my top priority\u00a0as Foreign Affairs Minister.<\/p>\n
On 31 January last, together with the President of Confindustria Mr Boccia, I presented the results of an\u00a0independent survey carried out by Prometeia on the impact economic diplomacy has on growth: economic diplomacy accounts for more than 1% of our GDP and has created 234 thousand jobs.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
The survey confirmed that the Farnesina and its network of Embassies and Consulates assist above all the small and medium sized enterprises: 61% of the companies that have signed a contract or that have been awarded a tender thanks to our support are SMEs.<\/p>\n
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This is an important figure because the SMEs reflect the vitality and creativity of the middle class.\u00a0And the SMEs I have met are very willing to\u00a0invest in young people.<\/p>\n
Economic Diplomacy led me on a mission to Milan and London\u00a0in support of your campaign to attract banks, insurance companies, investment funds, businesses, European Agencies and Bodies, that are pulling out of London as a result of\u00a0Brexit.<\/p>\n
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I then launched the initiative \u201cThe Farnesina meets businesses\u201d\u00a0because I realized that not all entrepreneurs are aware of what economic diplomacy can do for them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And after\u00a0Lombardy, I visited\u00a0Piedmont, Friuli Venezia Giulia\u00a0and this morning I was in\u00a0Abruzzi.<\/p>\n
I will continue to pursue this commitment with great determination because internationalization is a must for companies nowadays.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Companies can have huge opportunities:\u00a0in 2016, foreign markets generated\u00a0417 billion\u00a0euros of exports for Italy and a trade balance surplus of about 52 billion.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
I constantly invite entrepreneurs to make a better use of the services offered by the Farnesina and by our Embassies and Consulates:\u00a0to attract investments; to make investments; to expand exports; and conquer new markets.<\/p>\n
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This is a large \u201cjoint venture\u201d with a leading role being played by the Situation Room for Internationalization, co-chaired by the Farnesina and the Ministry of Economic Development (MISE).\u00a0The Situation Room is at the service of our companies:\u00a0 we work together to organize comprehensive missions abroad and to assist companies in priority markets.<\/p>\n
I am convinced that we are all working in the right direction to bring about a change of pace of Brand Italy. Today, being able to anticipate and understand market trends ahead of time makes the difference between winning and losing. Our decisions, our responses must adjust to the pace of the times and become much quicker. This is where the Situation Room can help.<\/p>\n
The task of economic diplomacy is to understand the expectations of Brand Italy and direct the decisions of our global interlocutors\u00a0in the earliest stages of the process.<\/p>\n
Economic diplomacy has also another crucially important role to play: defending and promoting the Italian spirit abroad, helping Italian companies to overcome the many legal but also political obstacles that hinder their progress.<\/p>\n
And we must not forget that exports are a vital element in the Italian economic system.\u00a0Indeed, the risks of protectionism make economic diplomacy even more important.<\/p>\n
Italian diplomacy must work to ensure equal treatment for our companies.\u00a0It is not acceptable that foreign companies find a level playing field in Italy while our entrepreneurs struggle to find their way into the same foreign markets where they come up against the rubber wall of bureaucracy or the denial of politics.<\/p>\n
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I always ask Italian Ambassadors\u00a0to invoke all possible rules to protect the Italian spirit of our companies\u00a0on conditions of reciprocity. We are in favour of international trade and do not want to discriminate against anyone, but we will not accept discriminations against us.<\/p>\n
I would like to take advantage of the presence of Ministers Calenda and Lorenzin to break the news that\u00a0\u2013 together with the MISE, the Health Ministry and the Ministry for Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies –\u00a0we will be devoting new attention to the issue of non-tariff barriers of a technical or phytosanitary nature that affect\u00a0Made in Italy\u00a0<\/i>products.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
For example, on\u00a021 April at the Farnesina\u00a0we will be holding an\u00a0event against the food ‘traffic light’ labelling initiative\u00a0launched in the United Kingdom and that runs the risk of spreading to other EU Countries (France and Belgium). The \u201ctraffic light\u201d labelling (green, amber and red) pattern indicates the nutritional contents of products. Not only does this food label\u00a0negatively affect Italian quality products\u00a0like Parmigiano Reggiano and Prosciutto di Parma, but it also creates\u00a0obstacles against the free movement of goods. On the Italian side this will get a \u201chuge red light\u201d!<\/p>\n
This is a commitment that derives from our \u201cfaith\u201d\u00a0in free trade,\u00a0believing as we do that protectionism is never the right answer. Especially for an\u00a0exporting Country like Italy\u00a0that relies on international trade for its growth.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
At the same time we need to acknowledge that globalization has not been the same for everyone.\u00a0Unequal opportunities have caused a\u00a0loss of confidence\u00a0of citizens in the political institutions producing \u2013 as a symptom -populism.<\/p>\n
Slow growth and the migration crisis have worsened the situation: because inclusion policies become a \u201czero sum game\u201d where the pieces of the pie are redistributed without enlarging it, hence creating conflicts.<\/p>\n
But the solution is not less Europe, as populists want people to believe, but more Europe.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
I therefore think that Europe should better exploit the potential of the Single Market, of the Economic and Monetary Union and of the international trade policies.<\/p>\n
Because we must never forget that the Euro has secured the value of our homes, our savings and the pensions of our citizens.\u00a0If we were to abandon the euro we would run the serious risk of halving the wealth of Italian citizens.<\/p>\n
Not only has the euro\u00a0shielded us from the financial crisis,\u00a0but it\u00a0offers very low interest rates\u00a0that enable us to pay our mortgages and fund our growth. In the past, with the Lira, interest rates reached peaks of 20%.<\/p>\n
I believe in free trade, but also in solidarity.\u00a0This is why I have long since been saying that we need to\u00a0protect the interests of the more vulnerable and of all those who for various reasons have been excluded from the benefits of globalization.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
For every step forward taken by the \u2018economic Europe\u2019, the \u2018social Europe\u2019 needs to take at least two steps forward: we must double the policy objectives against\u00a0unemployment,\u00a0social exclusion and\u00a0poverty, and double those in favour of\u00a0youth\u00a0and the\u00a0middle class.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
As I pointed out at the recent \u201cB7\u201d summit,\u00a0the \u201cBusiness 7\u201d that brings together the leading entrepreneurs of the G7 Countries:\u00a0too many global investors have been obsessed with the \u201crisks\u201d of the Eurozone and have forgotten the \u201copportunities\u201d\u00a0offered by the largest common market.<\/p>\n
Another positive element:\u00a0during the last three months, global trade has started growing again at a rate that had not been seen in seven years.\u00a0Leaving rhetoric aside, the stakes involved are high. And also\u00a0you entrepreneurs must make an additional effort to defend free trade!<\/p>\n
I am not saying that risks have been eliminated, but they are more of a political rather than economic nature: the so-called \u201cfundamentals\u201d of European and Italian economy are improving.<\/p>\n
The challenges are mainly political and they concern immigration and terrorism.\u00a0Italy has reacted to these challenges with great determination, without equating immigration with terrorism, as populists do.<\/p>\n
The results of the elections in the Netherlands and in Saarland have been encouraging.\u00a0The moderate, centre and pro-Europe parties, that know how to deal with problems concretely, have held the stage. They can again win the\u00a0elections in Germany, France and Italy. And winning against populism would mean a new wave of confidence\u00a0in Europe and a new upward trend for the markets.<\/p>\n
In Italy we need this type of confidence. And you know, even better than I do, that confidence is a decisive ingredient for growth:\u00a0in particular, it would definitely loosen up the various forms of resistance of our banking system that hamper growth;\u00a0loans would be made available for investments by companies and for consumption by households.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
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