Spain and Italy call on European solidarity to deal with social and economic consequences of COVID-19 crisis

The two countries are suffering the social and economic consequences of the pandemic. "We were among the first to be hit and we have paid a high price in the lives of our fellow citizens", said Pedro Sánchez.

The Governments of Italy and Spain are therefore arguing that both preparedness for future changes in the pandemic and recovery from it require a strong economic response from Europe that considers those who have suffered the most from this crisis and that, above all, accepts the goal to not leave anyone behind.

Pool Moncloa/Borja Puig de la BellacasaThe President of the Government believes that the European Commission's proposal achieves those goals. The Italian Prime Minister shares this opinion. "July is the month for agreement and every European leader should be aware of that. Many companies and many jobs depend on our ability to strengthen the European project, and we cannot shy away from our obligations", said Pedro Sánchez.

The President of the Government believes that, if an agreement can be reached on the Recovery Found and the Multiannual Financial Framework, the European Union will be taking an unprecedented step forward in building the common project that is Europe.

The various governments have been called to Brussels on 17 and 18 July. Pedro Sánchez and Giuseppe Conte have agreed to double down on their efforts in the coming days through bilateral meetings with certain northern countries in order to try to build consensus. The President of the Government of Spain will travel to the Netherlands, Germany and Sweden next week.

In terms of bilateral issues, the Governments of Spain and Italy have decided to further boost the strategic relationship between the two countries. These additional efforts will reflect the close ties that link the people of Italy and Spain - historic, family, social, economic and cultural ties. Italy and Spain should therefore have a strong and dynamic relationship to reflect the factors shared in common by the two governments on agendas such as Europe. To that end, Pedro Sánchez and Giuseppe Conte have agreed to bring their two governments together at a bilateral summit before the end of 2020, something that has not happened since 2014.