It is in moments of maximum crisis, he says, that \u201cnew opportunities can open up,\u201d and that one can find the courage for an \u201cindispensable electric shock to save Europe from decline, from being reduced to an economic giant and a political dwarf, a residual entity in the new global scenario.\u201d Antonio Tajani says so and calls for it \u2014 a former President of the European Parliament, former Vice-President of the European Commission and now Foreign Minister of one of the countries that \u201chave historically been among the most pro-European\u201d.<\/p>\n
For this reason, at a time when violent blows are coming against the EU from the United States and Russia, he calls on everyone for \u201cacts of courage\u2014now or never.\u201d And therefore not \u201cless Europe, but a Europe that renews itself and becomes a protagonist and also autonomous.\u201d<\/p>\n
How can this be done, at a moment when Europe seems on the verge of sinking? Is there a recipe?<\/strong> Who should drive this process forward?<\/strong> Can politics restore strength to what even the League, along with many nationalists, considers a useless juggernaut?<\/strong> Institutional ones?<\/strong> \u201cAnd what decision-making powers would this lead to?\u201d<\/strong> Which one?<\/strong> It does not seem easy to close the gap with the military strength of Europe on the one hand and, on the other, the United States, Russia and China<\/strong>. Yes, but with what money? Salvini does not seem willing to spend even on aid to Ukraine<\/strong>. How long will it take? Trump threatens to step away from European defence within months. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It is in moments of maximum crisis, he says, that \u201cnew opportunities can open up,\u201d and that one can find the courage for an \u201cindispensable electric shock to save Europe from decline, from being reduced to an economic giant and a political dwarf, a residual entity in the new global scenario.\u201d Antonio Tajani says so […]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[28,42],"class_list":["post-163081","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-interviste","tag-ministro","tag-unione-europea"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163081","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=163081"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163081\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":163084,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163081\/revisions\/163084"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=163081"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=163081"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=163081"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n<\/strong>\u201cBy changing, profoundly. Europe as it is currently structured cannot stand comparison with other powers. And it is not a question of replying to this or that statement\u2014the United States necessarily remains our main ally\u2014or of thinking that we are at war with Russia. We need to think about how we can lift ourselves up, not reduce ourselves to petty, short-range actions.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nItaly can play a major role in this change, provided it understands what is needed. The first step is to rediscover a political soul: that of a continent rooted in Christianity and the Enlightenment, a Europe founded on rights and respect for the individual\u2014the only one in the world that has abolished the death penalty.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cWe have solid and capable national leaders, but we lack great European leaderships like those of De Gasperi, or Kohl, or Mitterrand. Everyone must take a step forward\u2014not by thinking merely as the leader of a single country, but as the architect of a broader project.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\u201cFirst of all, loving one\u2019s homeland does not mean being nationalist. We all love our country, but to make it stronger we cannot isolate ourselves, because the numbers tell us that we cannot compete on our own with the major world powers. Therefore nationalist drives must be countered with incisive and genuine reforms.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\u201cStarting with institutional reforms. As Henry Kissinger once said, \u2018When I call Europe, I don\u2019t know whom to call.\u2019 We are still facing that problem\u2014only today it can no longer be taken for granted that the United States will also look out for us, including on security. That is why the right of veto must be abolished, at least in many policy areas; I will raise this with my allies. We should then merge the role of President of the European Commission with that of the European Council, with direct election by citizens, and strengthen the European Parliament, which still lacks the power of legislative initiative. The aim is a more political and less bureaucratic Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThose that would derive from the other indispensable step: completing the single market. This is done through banking union, a single energy market, a capital markets union, competition laws, tax harmonisation that prevents the creation of tax havens. And there is another fundamental step.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\u201cPolitics must return, and the overbearing power of the Brussels bureaucracies must end. It is not acceptable that simply because one studied at the College of Bruges one can think to have more power than those elected by citizens. European bureaucracy is elephantine\u2014in powers, in red tape and constraints. We need to be swift, fast, flexible. For every new regulation, two must be abolished. And enough with self-destructive policies, such as the excesses of the Green Deal that have caused damage to an industrial continent like ours. Not to mention agriculture\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\u201cIt is not easy, but it is the only path. Strengthening our defence is a necessity; this does not mean focusing solely on weapons to be used against a hypothetical enemy, but also defending our economy\u2014I am referring to our Navy and to the forces operating under the UN aegis. I believe that a common army should be the end goal, but in the meantime coordinated action towards a common defence is necessary, including close industrial cooperation with the United States and the other NATO and G7 countries.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThe arms decree for Ukraine, to be used on its own territory, will be adopted, as the Prime Minister has clearly stated. There is no doubt about our position. For greater commitments, we can consider ad hoc European funds and eurobonds to strengthen ourselves. The reality before us is clear: we must be able to guarantee our defence and work toward the reunification of Europe to the east, and we are among the foremost supporters of EU accession for the Balkan countries.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>\u201cThe unity of the West is an indispensable asset. I do not believe that Europe can be so easily dispensed with, even though it is clear that the United States is focused on the challenge posed by China. It is far from certain that China would break with Russia, nor would it be in the United States\u2019 interest to lose an ally\u2014and a continent\u2014that represents an exceptionally rich import-export market. And still less\u2014let me say this to all those who question the importance of the EU\u2014would it serve Italy to isolate itself. Of the \u20ac623 billion in exports by Italian companies, over \u20ac200 billion go to European countries. Isolating ourselves, turning our backs on Europe, would render us marginal and irrelevant\u201d.<\/p>\n