The President of the Euro-Mediterranean Economists Association – EMEA , Prof. Rym Ayadi, participated in the webinar “Post-Covid recovery in the Euro-Mediterranean: monetary and financial aspects”, which was organised by the Federation of Banks, Insurance and Finance – FeFAB in collaboration with the Robert Triffin International Foundation, on 17 March 2021.
The prospects for the post-Covid recovery on the southern shore of the Euro-Mediterranean are uncertain and not very promising. Public debt and deficits limit the capacity for adequate fiscal responses. The webinar discussed these issues and if the EU’s “New Agenda for the Mediterranean”, the African Continental Free Trade Area, and other initiatives are capable of providing the urgent and strong response needed in the region.
Prof. Ayadi underlined the low level of preparedness of the South Mediterranean countries to face the global pandemic and the below global average mitigation actions they provided to manage the short-term socio-economic impacts. She highlighted the importance to place these countries in a resilience path built on three pillars ( 1- enhanced preparedness and early warning system; 2- timely and effective crisis management; 3- Objective-based and transparent recovery process with appropriate financial means).
She also emphasised that regional integration can be part of the solution if it is fair, symmetric and equitable and build on new dimensions such as inclusion, sustainability, technology transfer and digitalisation.
