Ireland and Italy agree that the European economy needs pro-growth policies, Italian prime minister Mario Monti said today after talks in Rome with Taoiseach Enda Kenny.
The Irish economy is proof that while measures to reduce the budget deficit and carry out structural reforms "can be difficult to bear in the short term", they also help achieve economic recovery, Mr Monti said at a press conference this morning.
The two leaders agreed Europe needs to boost its financial firewalls to avoid contagion from the debt crisis, Mr Kenny said, adding that they also discussed incentives to attract Chinese investments in Europe.
Mr Kenny said he discussed boosting Europe's bailout facilities with German chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin last night and she listened "carefully." He said the issue will be on the agenda of a European Union summit next week. Today’s meeting was the first bilateral meeting between the two leaders since Mr Monti took office 100 days ago.
Mr Monti, like Mr Kenny, has emphasised the need for the EU to move on from the focus on austerity to agreement on policies that will promote economic growth in the years ahead.
Mr Kenny's dinner discussion at Schloss Meseberg, Germany’s official guest house 70km north of Berlin, with Dr Merkel, which was also attended by Czech and Latvian prime ministers Petr Nečas and Valdis Dombrovksis, addressed the upcoming EU summit and the future direction of the European Union. A German official described the meeting as “relaxed circle, an informal exchange of views”.
Irish officials also stressed the informal nature of the talks, which lasted two and a half hours.
Additional reporting: Bloomberg