Signore e Signori, buon pomeriggio. Sono davvero lieto di essere qui a Roma oggi su invito del Presidente del Consiglio, Enrico Letta.
It is already the third time we meet since the President assumed the responsibility of leading the Italian government - and the first time here in Rome. Earlier this morning I also met President Napolitano and the President of the Senate, Grasso.
Allow me to highlight two issues that I discussed at length with the President Letta: How to tackle the current economic crisis and how to fight youth unemployment.
First on the economic crisis. We are now in that most difficult of moments: in-between. After the violent storm, but before the clouds start clearing. And in this "in-between" moment, it is essential that we remain committed and keep our direction. The direction was firmly agreed by all leaders in the European Council in March. Our strategy has four fundamentals:
The first one is to restore and maintain financial stability. And we are on the right track. The large drop in the so-called "spreads", not least for Italy, proves that market confidence is on its way back. And the existential threat to the euro zone is over.
Click here for full details.
