The Italian MEP and Secretary General of the European Democratic Party is once again a candidate on the French presidential majority list for the elections on 9 June. His aim: to represent European citizens, while positioning himself as a fervent supporter of Macronism.
We live in a Darwinian moment. In these moments, it is not the strongest who wins, but the one who demonstrates the best capacity for adaptation and transformation: a capacity that the Union has shown it has with the Recovery Plan, while struggling on health and its role in the world.
we are at a turning point in Europe. As you rightly pointed out, the battle over the rule of law is not a negotiation like any other. With Emmanuel Macron, we are defending the very identity of our Union: not a mere association of states but a true democratic community. All citizens must have the guarantee that we will always be at their side, if necessary even against their governments if they violate fundamental European values. We speak different languages, we come from different countries and different histories, we have different ideas, but there is something very deep that unites us: respect for human dignity, for freedom, for democracy. And this is the European identity, after two European civil wars, after the Shoah, after the Resistance.
Italy is already the primary beneficiary of the European response and will be even more so if we keep up the political pressure in the coming months. How much is already available to Italy as an emergency response to the crisis? From SURE 15-20 billion, from the EIB 35 billion, from the ESM 36 billion, as an ‘extra’ from the EU budget 2014-2020 another 6/7 billion. To which is now added Ursula Von der Leyen’s proposal, Next Generation, which envisages 80 billion in grants and 90 billion in loans, again for Italy. Total: 250-255 billion, about 15% of Italy’s GDP.
Dear Editor,
Yesterday your paper rightly denounced the worrying increase in the number of EU infringement procedures opened against Italy since the start of the Conte government: already 14, at a rate of about 1.5 per month. And more will follow in the coming weeks. At the start of the Renzi government, Italy was the country with the most infringements of any major EU country. A real European disgrace for one of the founding states. At the end of February 2014, there were even 121 infringements against Italy, and the trend was one of continuous increase.
Corriere della Sera editorial on 18/02/2019. Dear Director,With reference to Paolo Valentino’s commentary on “Renzi “regrets” his choice of Mogherini”, in which he speaks of the alleged mistake of not appointing Enrico Letta as President of the European Council, I would like to make it clear that the then President Matteo Renzi never ruled out…
Intervention in Le Monde, 5 October 2023 Let’s face reality and stop talking about Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni for what we want her to be, but for what she really is. About a year ago, she and her government took the reins of Italy with the slogan “We are ready”, claiming to be a…
