Employment, especially youth employment, and growth will be the strategic priority for Italy’s Presidency of the European Union, to signpost the direction to follow over the next 5 years. The point was reiterated by Minister Mogherini during her presentation at the second Italian-German Economic Forum in Rome on 8 May 2014. “We want the first semester of the new European legislature to send out a clear signal of a new period – a period of growth”, she continued, adding that the employment summit will take place in Turin on 11 July.
Italian-German relations – a new vision is needed
Turning to Italy’s relations with Germany, Mogherini underscored that we need to abandon the false idea – the caricature – of our bilateral relationship behind us. Italy and Germany are two great European, and pro-Europe, countries – founder countries who together can determine the nature and direction of European policies and our continent’s ability to provide citizens with the answers they seek.
More Europe is needed, united and strong in foreign policy
In foreign policy, commented Minister Mogherini, “we need more Europe: a Union that is stronger and more united – and stronger, too, in regional crises. If the EU had been more far-sighted in the early days of the Ukrainian crisis, we’d have a different outcome today”.
