Economist and former European Union Commissioner Mario Monti warned that providing support that is too easy to obtain can be dangerous and have serious consequences, Politico reports.
Monti compared the relaxed conditions for receiving support from the European Union to drug addiction: «The rules must become stricter. The longer we allow the addiction phase to continue, the harder it will be to get rid of addiction afterward.» The European Commission eased aid rules during the pandemic to allow governments to help companies hit by the sudden drop in market activity. The rules were relaxed once again to help cover rising energy costs. A further easing of support rules is now planned to accommodate the US’s Inflation Reduction Act.
The economist pointed out that this is the right time to define the border, and added that there is a categorical attitude in Europe, which is strongest in France, that it is necessary to respond to the US with similar moves. This behavior ignores the billions of euros spent on the EU’s post-pandemic recovery plan. Monti said:
«It is pointless for us to chase each other on both sides of the Atlantic, we all know that it will be necessary to move toward more coordinated state aid control someday.»
Monti also worried that the current composition of the European Commission is not doing enough to protect the single market and said that the current internal market commissioner, Thierry Breton, should be careful about proposing to lift state aid controls. The economist added that the last three years have been like an experiment on what would happen to Europe if state support was not controlled.
Italy, which has generally supported state aid, is now calling for caution against easing the rules as it could threaten the single market. Italy is also joined by smaller EU countries and liberal EU commissioners. «Countries that used to complain of state aid rules are now complaining that those rules are not in place,» Monti said.
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