2020 International Student Restarting the Global Economy Post COVID-19: A Model G7+5 Summit

Italy Italian Republic

Key Facts Head of State / Head of Government: President Sergio Mattarella is the Chief of State and Prime ​ Minister Giuseppe Conte is the Head of Government.

Capital city: Rome ​ Population: 62,402,659 ​ Currency: the Euro ​ Gross domestic product (PPP): $2.317 trillion ​ Legal System: Civil law system with judicial review of legislation in the Constitutional Court. ​ Political system: is a member of the and is a parliamentary republic. The legal voting age is 18, except for senatorial elections, where voters must be age 25 or older. The government is broken up into three branches: the executive branch, the legislative branch, and the judicial branch.

Economy Italy has the third largest economy in the eurozone, but it also has a great deal of debt.

Background: The north of the country has a highly developed economy with a large number of ​ private companies that produce consumer goods. The south of the country has a less developed economy and a greater focus on agriculture. The country also has a lot of debt. Because of this, investors and European partners have been pressuring the country to address their economic problems. However, since 2014, the economy has been experiencing modest growth. Unemployment moved down to 11.4% but youth unemployment remained at 37.1%. The World Affairs Council of Philadelphia 2020 International Student Summit Restarting the Global Economy: A G7+5 Summit December 2020

Main Industries: A large part of Italy’s economy is made up of the manufacturing of high quality consumer goods that are produced by mostly small and medium sized enterprises, many of which are family owned businesses. Italy also has a large “underground” economy that consists of agriculture, construction and the service sector, which is responsible for 17% of the country's GDP.

Exports: Italy’s top exports are medicaments (a substance used for medical treatment) ($20.2B) , cars ($17.2B), vehicle parts ($15.2B) and refined petroleum ($16.2B).

Imports: Italy’s top imports are crude petroleum ($41.9B), petroleum gas ($18.2B), packaged medicaments (a substance used for medical treatment) ($16.9B), refined petroleum ($10.3B) and cars ($32.4B).

Major trade partners: Italy’s major trade partners include , , , the , the Netherlands and .

Effects of COVID-19 on the Italian Economy Since the onset of COVID-19, Italy’s industrial output has fallen significantly, which has had a devastating effect on the country's economy. In addition, Italy’s economy is dependent on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) who rely on loans and finances to help pay their bills. But, since the financial sector of the economy is hurting, it is harder for these businesses to secure their loans. This makes it more difficult for them to operate, which in turn damages the economy further. Moreover, in April, tourist accommodations were down 99% from the prior year, while car sales contracted by 98% and retail sales by 29%. While the economy began to slightly improve in May and June as restaurants and shops opened again and EU and UK tourists were allowed in the country, the effects of COVID-19 on Italy’s economy are still devastating. RaboResearch predicts that Italy’s economy will contract by 11.5% this year. And while they also predict that the economy will grow by 7% next year, they estimate that the economy will not fully recover all of its losses until 2025.

In response to the economic hardship caused by COVID-19, the Italian government introduced a large stimulus package in March. Then, in May, a second $59.6 billion stimulus package was approved. This relief package includes grants and tax breaks for businesses, subsidies for childcare, and incentives to boost the currently destroyed tourism sector. The package will also help those who are self-employed and enable companies to furlough, not fire, their employees. Furthermore, the package will provide payments between 400 and 800 Euros for up to two months for those currently without an income. Italy and the G-7 Italy is a member of the G7, an intergovernmental economic organization formed in 1975 that includes the leaders from seven of the most developed and powerful countries in the world. Members meet annually to discuss global issues such as economic growth, crisis management, global security and energy. Members include , Germany, the , , France, Italy, and the United The World Affairs Council of Philadelphia 2020 International Student Summit Restarting the Global Economy: A G7+5 Summit December 2020

States. While there is no official criteria to join the group, all members are expected to be democracies with advanced economies.

Italy hosted the then G8 summit in 2009 in the Italian city of L’Aquila. At this particular summit, Italy brought and the protests in to the top of the agenda. Italy also focused on getting the group to send a message to the World Trade Organisation to have a new round of New Doha trade talks. Finally, Italy highlighted development in Africa and the lack of progress made in meeting the ’ Millennium Development Goals. Italy then hosted the G7 summit again in 2017, this time in the town of . At this summit, Italy brought the conflicts in Syria and Libya to the top of the agenda, as well as immigration.

The World Affairs Council of Philadelphia 2020 International Student Summit Restarting the Global Economy: A G7+5 Summit December 2020

Sources 1. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/it.html 2. https://oec.world/en/profile/country/ita/ 3. https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/italy/ 4. https://casereports.onlinejacc.org/content/early/2020/04/22/j.jaccas.2020.03.012 5. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/10/italy-in-national-lockdown-heres-what-it-means.html 6. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-52435273 7. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/10/world/europe/italy-coronavirus-tourism.html?searchRe sultPosition=1 8. https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/03/14/coronavirus-eu-abandoning-italy-china-aid/ 9. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/03/coronavirus-covid-19-italy-china-supplies/ 10. https://moderndiplomacy.eu/2020/03/28/russia-aids-italy-in-fight-against-covid-19-why-we-sho uld-be-aware/ 11. https://www.state.gov/u-s-assistance-to-italy/ 12. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-52666870 13. https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atlanticist/covid-19-will-not-change-italys-euro-atla ntic-position-defense-minister-says/

Sources (economy) 1. https://oec.world/en/profile/country/ita/ 2. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/it.html 3. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200416005466/en/Impact-COVID-19-Ita lys-Economy-2020-Automobile-Food#:~:text=In%20Italy%2C%20the%20death%20toll,in %20the%20EU%20member%20states. 4. https://economics.rabobank.com/publications/2020/july/covid-19-devastating-impact- on-italy-economy/ 5. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-italy-stimulus/italy-approves-lo ng-delayed-economic-stimulus-package-in-coronavirus-fight-idUSKBN22P2YE 6. https://www.dw.com/en/overview-of-the-35th-g8-summit/a-4446832 7. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/05/g7-summit-170526040901217.html

The World Affairs Council of Philadelphia 2020 International Student Summit Restarting the Global Economy: A G7+5 Summit December 2020