"I am here for the information on the changes to the Mes also because I have always tried to ensure a clear and transparent dialogue with the Parliament. Those in opposition are showing a lack of culture of rules and a lack of respect for institutions. Neither I nor any member of my government signed a treaty that was still incomplete"

Thus to the 13.00 the President of the Council, Giuseppe Conte reported to the Chamber of Deputies on the Mes - the European fund saves states. After a few jabs at the Lega leader, Matteo Salvini, he lashed out at Giorgia Meloni, both of whom were accused of lying on social media these days. 

"The reference is that the current accounts of the Italians would be in danger with the Mes. "I was surprised, if I may say so, not by the conduct of Senator Salvini, whose" ease "to return the truth and whose" resistance "to studying dossier I am well aware of, how - said Conte - of the behavior of the deputy Meloni in spreading alarmist news, obviously false on the Mes. It has also been said that the Mes would have already been signed, and moreover by night. Even those in opposition have responsibilities of responsibility. A false accusation of high treason of the Constitution is a different matter from the accusation of having committed political errors or of having made bad reforms: it is an accusation that is not limited only to pollute the public debate and to disorient the citizens, it is index of the form more serious of ruthlessness because in order to gain some ephemeral advantage, it ends up undermining the credibility of democratic institutions and the trust that citizens place in them".

So he thundered Giorgia Meloni: “President Conte, if there were no Italian money in the middle, I would have enjoyed listening to you. He read 40 minutes of parliamentary reports to contradict what his government did, disprove his government. I want the truth but the government cannot tell it. I fear that Conte has given the de facto okay on a reform from which Italy has everything to lose in exchange for a European blessing ”.

Matteo Salvini after the intervention of Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte in the Senate, he replied: "On the Mes or Gualtieri lied, or lied Conte or did not understand Di Maio. If someone lied I think he was Conte because Gualtieri wasn't there. Conte's insults slip over me. Compared to June, I see him much more nervous. But I don't hold a grudge. Then Salvini notes the dozens of absences between the 5Stelle (besides 30) and left (over 20) while Conte speaks. Not even his majority listens to him".

The version of Giuseppe Conte on the Mes

"I can therefore say that, a little less than a year ago, Italy, which I represented, expressed itself at European level in a manner perfectly consistent with the mandate received by this Parliament. On this basis the Eurogroup was given the task of proceeding with the preparation of a draft revision of the Mes Treaty. In communications made 27 June 2018, although the central theme was that of immigration, I wanted to explicitly address the question of the reform of the Mes. In this regard, I stated: "We do not want a European Monetary Fund that, far from operating with equalization purposes, ends up forcing some countries towards pre-defined restructuring paths with substantial deprecation of the power to develop effective economic policies autonomously". 

During the ensuing debate in the Chamber, most of the deputies who spoke did not address the subject, with the exception of Mr Gelmini (Forza Italia) and Mr Molinari (Lega). Both have limited themselves to expressing evaluations of principle, moreover consistent with the address expressed on the point in my intervention ".

The premier then claims to have always fought in Europe to insert the Mes reform into a "package logic". "In line with the parliamentary resolutions approved by the 19 June, asserting the Government's commitment to respect the position expressed by the sovereign Parliament - said Conte - I asked and obtained, during the 21 June Euro-Summit, the inclusion - in the summit declaration - of the reference to the package approach on the three pillars that we all know well by now. The new treaty leaves the assessment of the sustainability of the debt and the macroeconomic conditions of the beneficiary countries of the MES intervention to a valuation that is anything but automatic, consistently with what was claimed by Italy that opposed other countries that would have instead more automatisms. Then it excludes problems for our debt: "Our country has a fully sustainable public debt" assures Conte, so "no need is seen on the horizon to activate the European Stability Mechanism".

The EU position

Meanwhile, Eurogroup sources, writes Sole24Ore, let it be known that it would be "better to decide now, the agreement has already been in June". And France is leaking its "satisfaction" with the current text of the reform concerning the European stability mechanism. According to French diplomatic sources, the text "reinforces the European stability mechanism, improves the effectiveness of its precautionary tools" and "reinforces the debt sustainability framework in the euro area, minimizing the potential effects on financial stability". But EU sources then add that «the signing of the Treaty on Mes in December is not necessary, it can take place two-months later».