The flexibility granted to Italy by the European Union has been welcomed as a \u201csuccess\u201d by Minister of Foreign Affairs Antonio Tajani. The tone is relieved because, at a difficult moment for the government, faced with tight fiscal margins, \u201cit will allow greater room for manoeuvre on the energy price crisis caused by the Hormuz blockade.\u201d In short, it is a breath of fresh air. 14 billion euros, to be spent over two or three years, for investments in renewable energy, which the Commission \u2014 Tajani underlines \u2014 \u201cconfirms to be a strategic objective for all Member States.\u201d And in this way, he adds, \u201cwe free up other resources that we can redirect towards urgent spending to cut energy bills for businesses and households.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yet, the impression is that much of the effort is going into plugging new gaps that continue to open up. <\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cIndeed, the real solution to this crisis is to achieve a truce and then a political agreement between the US and Iran that would allow the Strait of Hormuz to be fully reopened. The blockade and lack of security are also limiting the ability to distribute fertilizers produced in the Gulf worldwide: the problems in regions such as African countries will be dramatic if we do not act as quickly as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n You are the most pro-European member of the government. Do you also see this Commission decision as a response to those who criticize Brussels for not being close to citizens\u2019 needs?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cFirst of all, it is a success for the Italian government, which managed to present the request correctly and worked on negotiations to convince others of the soundness and reasonableness of Italy\u2019s proposal. Moreover, I have always argued that making unilateral budget overruns would have harmed us in the eyes of the markets. Therefore, a solution had to be found with the EU.\u201d<\/p>\n Others, including within the centre-right, have instead criticized the Union.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cAnd Europe has quickly provided a response that disproves those who continue to believe that Brussels does not respond to problems coming from Member States. If you have credible proposals and negotiation capacity, the EU listens. Over the years, our government has strengthened Italy\u2019s credibility and its ability to comply with European procedures, and therefore to be heard.\u201d<\/p>\n What are the government\u2019s investment priorities?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cThis flexibility will allow the government to potentially redirect resources from other budget lines to the necessary ones.\u201d<\/p>\n Can you be more specific?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cI must say I share the view that we should not abandon the main path: making Italy increasingly committed to an energy mix based on a concrete and realistic \u2014 not ideological \u2014 approach, in which new forms of nuclear energy will also have to find space alongside renewables.\u201d<\/p>\n How long will it take to see the first concrete measures?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cDays or weeks, not months.\u201d<\/p>\n Does this new flexibility remove the need to use cohesion funds for the energy crisis?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cThe European Union has also opened up to this possibility.\u201d<\/p>\n Regional governors, including those from the centre-right, have expressed opposition.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cWe will discuss with them the most effective way to make use of this opening, always respecting the roles and prerogatives of the regions.\u201d<\/p>\n Do you think it is necessary to extend the fuel excise cut as well?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cI think so, perhaps by better targeting support towards households and businesses most in need, such as energy-intensive industries.\u201d<\/p>\n The Hormuz crisis is also linked to the Lebanese front, where Israel continues to carry out airstrikes.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cWe are pressing the government in Tel Aviv \u2014 and we are not alone \u2014 regarding military operations in Lebanon that affect the civilian population. Let us not forget that everything restarted with Hezbollah rocket fire on northern Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n Rome has so far aligned with Berlin to avoid strong EU pressure on Israel. Despite this, the Israeli ambassador to Italy, Jonathan Peled, speaks of tensions with you. Were you surprised?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cWe reacted strongly to the unacceptable behaviour of an Israeli minister and of some elements of the police forces under his coordination. And with Germany we share an approach aimed at pressing government behaviour, not indiscriminately penalising the Israeli population. I would also like to add a point.\u201d<\/p>\n Please.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cWe must avoid attitudes that end up strengthening, within Israel, the most hardline wing, the one furthest from the \u2018two peoples, two states\u2019 position that we will always support.\u201d<\/p>\n Europe is now also returning to discuss Ukraine\u2019s accession. In the majority resolution to be voted in Parliament ahead of the next EU leaders\u2019 summit, do you think there should be a passage supporting Kyiv\u2019s entry into the Union?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cItaly is in favour of Ukraine\u2019s accession to the EU.\u201d<\/p>\n So that\u2019s a yes?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cAll necessary timelines and criteria must be respected, and in fact the process should be accelerated, without neglecting the Western Balkan countries, which have been waiting for more than a decade. Their case must be considered alongside Ukraine\u2019s. But let me be clear: Ukraine in the EU is a powerful additional factor of security and stability.\u201d<\/p>\n In the coming hours you will be between Piedmont and Valle d\u2019Aosta for the annual meeting with the French government of the \u201ccross-border cooperation committee\u201d. What topics will you address?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cWe will meet our French counterparts at the Bard Fort. It is not only about key mobility issues. We will discuss the environment, resource management, joint initiatives for industry, agriculture and youth. It is a concrete way of making populations that are now deeply connected work together, even if formally an old border remains that no longer represents a real dividing line for anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n Will you also discuss the \u201csecond tube\u201d of the Mont Blanc tunnel?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cYes, we will. We hope that all possible scenarios are analysed without prejudice, including the construction of a second tunnel tube. Available data and studies suggest that this solution could ensure even higher safety standards, as well as better environmental protection, thanks to the reduction of long queues during peak traffic periods. All this without increasing the number of vehicles in transit, but rather making the management of a strategic link for the communities and economies on both sides of the Alps more efficient, safer and more sustainable.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The flexibility granted to Italy by the European Union has been welcomed as a \u201csuccess\u201d by Minister of Foreign Affairs Antonio Tajani. The tone is relieved because, at a difficult moment for the government, faced with tight fiscal margins, \u201cit will allow greater room for manoeuvre on the energy price crisis caused by the Hormuz […]","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":192306,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[9,28,404,360,42],"class_list":["post-192439","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interviste","tag-europa","tag-ministro","tag-sicurezza","tag-ucraina","tag-unione-europea"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192439","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\/34"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=192439"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192439\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":192440,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192439\/revisions\/192440"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/192306"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=192439"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=192439"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=192439"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}