I have known Mario Monti since the time he was my professor of Monetary Economics in the late 70s. An excellent teacher, he opened his course by teaching financial accounting and balance sheets, explaining that every financial asset has a corresponding liability and demonstrating the importance of net sectors’ financial positions.
Today, Mario Monti chairs the EU “high-level group on own resources”, working on a reform of the EU budget. In an interview by Federico Fubini (Corriere della Sera, 18 October 2015), he discusses the current state of public finances in the EU and shares his concerns that the tight fiscal policy enforced in highly indebted EU countries is now being relaxed prematurely.
