The Diplomat
The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, met yesterday in Barcelona with the President of the Italian Council of Ministers, Mario Draghi, with whom he discussed bilateral and European issues and the possibility of developing “projects of special interest for both countries” with a view to the economic recovery after the pandemic.
During the meeting, held at the Albéniz Palace in Barcelona, Sánchez highlighted Spain’s interest in exploring collaboration projects with Italy in common interests, such as green hydrogen, digital transformation (connectivity, AI and digitization of sectors such as hospitality, tourism and fashion) and industrial cooperation. The meeting marks the Italian prime minister’s first bilateral trip to a European country since taking office in February.
“Italy is one of the three countries neighboring Spain specifically identified in our Recovery Plan”, said Sánchez, referring to the government’s program linked to the EU’s Next Generation plan and approved just this week by the European Commission. “Our objective in this regard is very clear: to increase the number of projects of special interest to both countries, explore the integration of value chains and strengthen the internal market”, he added. “We are the third and fourth largest economies in the European Union and represent 25% of its population and of the GDP of the euro zone”, he continued. “That is the real weight that we two countries have when we go hand in hand, and it is a strength that we always put at the service of the advancement of Europe”, he added.
During the bilateral meeting, Sánchez and Draghi also discussed bilateral relations, the Recovery Funds and various issues on the European agenda, such as the Southern Neighborhood, migration, pandemic vaccines and the COVID-EU Digital Certificate. Likewise, the Prime Minister expressed Spain’s desire to collaborate with Italy within the G20 -whose presidency in 2021 corresponds to Rome- on issues such as international taxation, climate change and global health.
Apart from the bilateral meeting, Pedro Sánchez and Mario Draghi shared an intense economic day that included the intervention of both at the closing of the XXXVI annual meeting of the Cercle d’Economia – together with the Vice President and Minister of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation, Nadia Calviño, and the Minister of Territorial Policy and Public Function, Miquel Iceta – and at the XVIII Italy-Spain Dialogue Forum, which brings together businessmen, economists, academics and civil society and has been held since 1999.
