ANKARA
Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has slammed the European Central Bank's policy of imposing "austerity" on nations with high levels of debt.
Renzi said on Wednesday at a conference on leadership at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss resort of Davos: “Europe should stress the importance of growth, not only the discipline of austerity."
"The European Central Bank could help in finding a new direction."
"Europe is not simply an economic community. Europe is not simply the euro. Europe is an idea that has meant 70 years of peace and stability," he added.
Renzi suggested that Europe should adopt the Roman motto, “Carpe diem”, meaning “seize the day".
"Europe could be in the next years not simply the last, but the place in which we can give a message of innovation in culture. Europe should lead the world in a new Renaissance," he said.
Renzi insisted Europe should foster an idea of the future focused on the ability to invest in the new generation and not simply to treat the future as a problem.
He noted that Italy was at work on a vast series of reforms, including changing the labor market, the fiscal system and civil justice.
“But Italy must first and foremost restore credibility. That is more important than the structural reforms," Renzi said.
