Brussels, 07/05/2013 (Agence Europe) - The Italian and Spanish governments are to set up a task force in which their respective development and labour ministers will take part in order to develop ideas for promoting youth employment. These ideas will be submitted to be next European Council in June, according to the Italian prime minister, Enrico Letta, speaking on Monday 6 May after his meeting in Madrid with his Spanish counterpart, Mariano Rajoy. He stated that “youth unemployment is a key subject. Political leaders cannot consider it normal that one in three young people is unemployed” he said. He took the view that “the fight against unemployment must be Europe's main concern”.
This initiative is part of the broader context of the approaches being adopted by the Italian-French-Spanish initiative set up recently following Letta's visits to European capitals (see EUROPE 10839) to promote growth and job creation among European partners.
“Opposing” Germany at the next European summit, as if it were “a football match or revenge during a Champions League final” would be “a very serious mistake”, explained the Italian prime minister, who emphasised that Europe needed, on the contrary, “a substantial joint effort to tackle unemployment”. He said that he was convinced that, in this regard, “Germany will understand and can understand” that these efforts in support of growth and jobs “is also for Europe and therefore for Germany too”.
In the meantime, the first deadline Italy has to meet is its presentation to the European Commission by 15 May of its updated stability programme, including the modalities for funding the budget shortfall resulting from the abolition of the property tax (IMU). (FG/transl.fl)