He said “Money always went from Italy to the EU, not the other way around.” And added: “We never asked if this money went to finance the German underworld.” His remark comes in the wake of a German news headline stating: “The mafia in Italy is waiting for EU money.”
Salvini’s open letter was published as a response to the headline in German daily Die Welt.
The discord started when the newspaper in an article affirmed, in an uncompromising way, its opposition to the introduction of Eurobonds.
Salvini writes: “Dear Die Welt, I saw with amazement your current title that speaks of a mafia that expects money from Europe. I would like to remind your readers, who deserve balanced information: Italy has been a net contributor of the European Union since 1989.”
Since then, the Italians have paid a total of 81 billion euros to the EU budget. Italy has also done its part with the saved funds, paying over 57 billion in various capacities. “As studies of German universities document, including the ESMT of Berlin, in many cases, including that of Greece, 95 percent of the funds paid by countries like Italy were immediately transferred to creditor banks, including the German ones.”
Also, the decision of Chancellor Angela Merkel to involve private investors in the rescue of Greece, has allowed Germany to finance itself at negative rates and to attract capital in search of a safe haven. The Leibniz Institut in Halle has shown that thanks to this move Germany has benefited from around 100 billion capital inflows, taken from the financial markets or other member countries.
“Finally, I would like to remind you that since the beginning of the crisis Germany has been violating the rule that limits the foreign surplus to 6 percent. The success of the German export companies, for which we congratulate you, however, means that the German economy thrives at the expense of other countries, which are its customers, and which therefore should be treated with respect.”
Basically Salvini makes it known that the billions never came to Italy from the EU, either via the EU budget or via saved funds, but rather in the opposite direction: from Italy to Europe. “And we never asked if they went to finance the German underworld. Instead, we are left with some curiosity as to who finances, and for what reasons, the many NGO ships that ferry illegal immigrants to the Mediterranean.”
He concludes: “We would be happy to read in your newspaper an investigation on this problem, perhaps based on facts and not on insults, to understand a little more about a phenomenon that occurs in violation of national and community laws and which concerns and it hurts everyone, starting with the immigrants themselves.”
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