How can Germany and Italy strengthen Europe’s ability to respond effectively to the challenges of our time?
60 young leaders from Italy and Germany will discuss this question on 27 and 28 September, in Berlin, as part of the Spinelli Forum. At the centre of the debate are the major European issues relating to foreign policy, security and the economy. At the conference, young leaders from both countries, from the fields of politics, administration, economics, science and media, will be making concrete proposals.
The opening addresses at the Spinelli Forum will be delivered by the Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Ambassador Ettore Francesco Sequi, and the State Secretary at the German Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Miguel Berger. The policy proposals drawn up by the young participants, who will later be joined in the working groups by leading experts in the various fields, will then be shared on the platform of the Conference on the Future of Europe and on the organisers’ websites. The closing speeches will be delivered by the Minister of State for Europe, Michael Roth, the Italian Ambassador in Berlin, Armando Varricchio, and Senator Laura Garavini, Vice-President of the Foreign Affairs Commission.
The Spinelli Forum, a joint initiative of the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, in collaboration with the German Society for Foreign Policy (DGAP) and the Italian Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI), promotes the exchange of ideas between young people from both countries, providing a new impulse to German-Italian cooperation on priority issues for the future of Europe.
The participants will table proposals for action on four topical issues: European foreign and security policy, Europe’s economic sovereignty in global competition, an inclusive and prosperous Europe, and the European Green Deal. The conference can be followed via the hashtag #GIYLD on Twitter.
Originally planned to be held last year, the Forum was postponed due to the pandemic and will take place in Berlin, for the first time this year, in hybrid format.
