Government crises in the European Union
Is the rest of the Union Concerned about these National Crises?
The resignation of Prime Minister Mark Rutte in the Netherlands, the resignation of Prime Minister Juri Ratas in Estonia, and those of Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte in Italy had something in common. Not only they were signs of government crisis at the national level, but they were also a source of concern for the European Union. As often happens in these circumstances, one might wonder why purely “internal” issues at the national level are a source of concern even at the European one.
Netherland crisis
In the Netherlands, the crisis was linked to a parliamentary report on the very aggressive approach used by Rutte’s government since 2012, which asked back to about 26 thousand families the monthly subsidies received as a contribution to the growth of children accusing them of fraud. Mark Rutte has always proclaimed budgetary rigour in Europe and has always practiced this rigour at home. His tax administration aligned with this view, leading to the accusation of fraud of about 26 thousand families, who were believed to have cashed child benefits between 2013 and 2019 unfairly. As a result, these subsidies were demanded back — tens of thousands of euros — leaving families in deep difficulty. But the requests were illegitimate, as emerged a month ago from a parliamentary inquiry entitled «Unprecedented injustice». The scandal led to the resignation of the Dutch government in the midst of the pandemic crisis.
Estonian Crisis
Also in Estonia Prime Minister Juri Ratas resigned on Wednesday 13 January, after being touched by a scandal involving a loan to a housing initiative in Tallinn which the Public Prosecutor’s Office was investigating because of the involvement of his party’s secretary, suspected of accepting a private donation to the party in exchange for political favor. Shortly after, the President invited Kaja Kallas, head of the center-right Reform party which has the most seats in Estonian parliament, to form a new coalition. The vote in the Riigikogu, the Estonian one-chamber parliament, has already given the approval to the new executive, which will have its 14 seats equally divided between the Estonian Centre Party faction and Reformist Party, with a majority of 70 votes in favor and 30 against.
The Italian Crisis
The Recovery Plan — the Italian plan for the use of the Recovery Fund of the European Union — has been the focus of lively debates. Matteo Renzi’s party (Italia Viva) insisted on modifying the first draft of the emergency aid plan, threatening the end of the majority. These threats became reality on 13 January, with the announcement of the resignation of the Minister of Agriculture, Teresa Bellanova, the Minister of the Family, Elena Bonetti, and the Undersecretary Ivan Scalfarotto. This led to the resignation of Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte. The President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella, after having verified the absence of margin for a new executive led by Conte, convened the former President of the ECB Mario Draghi, with the task of creating the new government.
Another wave of instability
In a context such as the current one, characterized by the spreading of Covid-19 and its variations, several setbacks in vaccination campaigns, and in the diffusion of vaccines, these political crises were essentially another wave of instability, which threatened to make the moment even more serious. Not to mention the possibility that they could bring to the fore Eurosceptic parties, which could compromise the efforts made so far to maintain unity and cohesion at the European Union level in the fight against Covid-19 and the resulting economic crisis. In fact, during these crises at the national level, Brussels' concerns also regarded the economic crisis, and in particular, the implementation of tools envisaged to overcome it properly. After all, negotiations on the Recovery Fund — the heart of Next Generation EU — have always been essentially political. Therefore, the stronger the government, the more likely is that suitable plans for the use of funds would be provided in a short time and without delays. The Italian crisis was of particular concern to the European Union. Indeed, as Italy is one of the largest beneficiaries of European funds, European public opinion has high hopes for the correct use of these funds by Italy. The chances offered by the Recovery Fund are manifold, but the money must be spent well and the reforms must be fast. However, a government supported by a strong majority is essential to achieve these goals.
The Recovery Fund
The approval of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (the Technical Support Instrument to the Recovery Fund) by the European Parliament has given way to a new phase. Aware of the instability in some European countries and the vital importance of rapid reforms, the European institutions' representatives have not failed to urge the Member States to remain united and act swiftly. The President of the European Parliament David Sassoli encouraged Member States to do their part to implement the Next Generation EU. He also stressed that there is no time to lose and that any delay can be huge damage to citizens and businesses. The Commission’s Executive Vice President responsible for economic issues, Valdis Dombrovskis, stressed that this instrument gives EU countries a unique opportunity to rebuild and renew their economies for the post-Covid world. According to Dombrovskis, this requires the right investments and reforms. In order to recover from the crisis and face the challenges of the 21st century, Member States will need to take the opportunity of funding to free their economies from bottlenecks and to modernize their obsolete policies and practices.[1] Although the above-mentioned government crises have been resolved, it is important to stress that they have given rise to some apprehension at the European level. The post-Covid relaunch, in fact, should be of collective interest, and all European Union Member States should act unitedly, being aware of the importance of each other’s stability for the achievement of common goals.
[1] https://www.rainews.it/dl/rainews/articoli/recovery-ok-definitivo-del-parlamento-europeo-a-regolamento-su-governance-8cf93aae-2247-40bc-a1ef-b107e269c956.html?refresh_ce
