Brussels, 02/08/2011 (Agence Europe) - In a column published in Il Messaggero, a Rome newspaper, on 30 July, the former president of the European Commission and former Italian prime minister, Romano Prodi openly criticises the Germans for their “egoism” further to the massive sale of nearly all the 8 billion Italian government bonds held by the Deutsche Bank. This, he said, “is a striking signal of non-confidence” in Italy, at a time when Italy is being treated on an equal footing with Spain when its economic structure (budget deficit, unemployment rate, soundness of the banking system) is clearly far healthier. Prodi went on to cite a report of 20 July this year whereby the very same bank boasted of good Italian liquidity and solvency prospects despite the high level of Italian debt. Prodi concluded by saying that the recent sale of Italian bonds appears aggressive and unwarranted given Italy's prospects.
The former Commission president then went on to ask who therefore can defend Italian interests as neither Finance Minister Tremonti nor Prime Minister Berlusconi have protested against their German counterparts. He therefore raised the political question regarding consistency between the declarations of principle made by European governments and the behaviour of financial players who should contribute to implementing those declarations but who, on the contrary, send signals that seriously and unjustifiably undermine a country. Such lack of coherence shows that EU solidarity is weak and that the different states have lost influence, giving way to other actors - rating agencies or major financial structures - that have become ultra-powerful and almost out of control. Hence Prodi's appeal for a burst of political action. (F.G./transl.jl)