Brussels, 09/07/2003 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday, presenting the economic committee of the European Parliament, the Italian Minister of the Economy, Giuliano Tremonti, quoting Keynes and Gramsci in turn, presented the Italian Presidency's programme for Ecofin and highlighted the "plan for growth". The objective is to develop a more detailed programme before October, together with the Commission and the European Investment Bank (EIB), for relaunching investment in transport infrastructure and research, the Minister indicated. He repeated that the plan was totally "compatible" with the Stability Pact. He explained that, "It's thanks to the Stability Pact that the plan was able to be launched, everything depends on the credibility of the pact".
Giulio Tremonti rejected the funding options that could involve increasing national or European public debt. The idea of a European loan for infrastructure, launched in 1993 by Jacques Delors is an "attractive hypothesis", he said but "we don't want any additional public debt", he added. Such a loan from the "State", would mean a European State" and that does not yet exist and is rejected by a number of Member States he declared. He did, nevertheless, consider that after its pioneering then economic period, the European Union ought to enter into a political phase, "As Gramsci used to say, the night is over but the day has not yet begun", he added. Spanish Socialist, Fernando Perez Royo regretted that the idea of a European loan had been rejected, whereas German Christian Democrat, Werner Langen welcomed this, calling for strict respect of the Stability Pact which, "from which some serious sinner states wish to distance themselves". For the time being, Mr Tremonti is sticking to the option of funding through the EIB and appeals to the private and capital markets. The Presidency seeks to create a Euro-Mediterranean Investment Bank (resulting from the current EIB facility) and EIB funding in the Balkans but Luxembourg Socialist, Robert Goebbels asked whether they were "asking too much from the EIB". This question, like many posed by MEPs on the practical and financial details of the "plan for growth remained unanswered. Mr Tremonti acknowledged that "there were still several aspects that still needed looking at", linked, in particular, to capital returns and intangible investment. He explained that this did not involve an initiative that would have, "immediate effects on growth but would be a long term task".
The Chairperson of the economic committee, Christa Randzio-Plath, nevertheless, welcomed this "Tremonti-Van Miert" taken from the "Delors plan" of 1993 and "supported at the time by the European Parliament". the German Social Democrat appealed in a press statement for investment to focus not only on infrastructure but also on "education, innovation and development". According to Forza Italia MEPs, Renato Brunetta, said that with interest rates at their lowest and reduced inflation, the situation was particularly conducive for launching such a plan.
Mr Tremonti listed the subjects that would be on the agenda during his Presidency of the Ecofin Council: the take-overs directive, "transparency" of stock market information, services of general interest, the transposition into Community law of the Basel II on the suitability of funds of own funds (he indicated that in this connection he was afraid that the Community ruling was too removed from demands made by the USA).
In the fiscal field, Mr Tremonti asserted that he would seek to push forward the dossier on corporation tax and the idea of a single European model agreed upon double taxes for companies. The commission announced in its October 2001 communication on corporation tax that it would present a communication in 2004 on, "the problem of conventions on double taxation linking Member States, in an effort to reach a possible conclusion of a multilateral convention or common model for the EU". Gulio Tremonti indicated that the Presidency would organise a conference on corporation tax in the autumn.
As announced in a memorandum to the Fifteen last February, Italy was seeking to promote the adoption of a European treaty on double taxation of natural persons, which would replace the 102 bilateral treaties concluded between Member States and the 750 treaties concluded between Member States and third countries.
The Italian Presidency is also seeking to pursue wok on concluding agreements with third countries on savings taxes, as well as the modernisation of the Community framework for mergers. It will begin work on new rules on reduced VAT levels for labour intensive services and cultural goods and services (the Commission is expected in principle to produce proposals on this matter before the summer break).