I studied Law in Bologna and International Relations at the Institut d’Études Politiques de Paris, and I hold a Master’s degree in International Relations from the Université Libre de Bruxelles. I also earned a doctorate in public law from the University of Bologna.

As a former diplomat, I have taught European Politics and Institutions at several European and American universities. I worked for ten years at the European Commission and, from 2000 to 2004, served as a member of the cabinet of Commission President Romano Prodi. In 2006, I was appointed advisor on European affairs to the President of the Italian Council of Ministers. Between 2006 and 2013, I was a member of the Chamber of Deputies and led the Democratic Party’s parliamentary group on the European Union Policy Committee. I also chaired the Immigration and Schengen Parliamentary Committee and served as President of the Italian Delegation and Vice-President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

I served as the Italian Secretary of State for European Affairs under the Renzi and Gentiloni governments from 2014 to 2018, and in 2019, I was appointed advisor to former French Prime Minister Édouard Philippe.

I have been honored with the French orders of “Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur” and “Officier des Palmes Académiques,” and I hold a Doctorate Honoris Causa in Literature and Philosophy from the University of Fribourg.

Elected in 2019 and again in 2024 in France, I am currently a Member of the European Parliament in the Renew Europe Group, serving as the Renew coordinator in the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, and as a member of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection and the Committee on Regional Development.

I am also the Secretary General of the European Democratic Party.