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<\/p>\nAn intense week of international meetings and the case of little Alfie<\/p>\n
Minister Angelino Alfano went to Brussels on Monday, 16 April, to attend the EU Foreign Affairs Council where the issues on the agenda focused on the difficult situation in Syria and the relations with Iran and the Russian Federation, and where he participated in a working lunch on the Western Balkans.<\/p>\n
In his contribution to the Council meeting, Minister Alfano spoke on the first point on the agenda: \u201cItaly considered the operations carried out on Saturday morning as a targeted, motivated and restricted response to the chemical attack on Douma. We offered our allies our political support, reaffirming that we do not want to consider what has happened as the beginning of an escalation.\u201d \u201cIn our opinion, it is important and necessary to do everything possible to rigorously ascertain the facts in respect of the existence of evident proof against Assad\u2019s regime in the Douma attack,\u201d he said, specifying that \u201con the basis of past actions, it is extremely likely that the regime is involved in the recent chemical attack. We confide in the assistance that may be provided by the OPAC experts who are already on the ground.\u201d He added: \u201cWe cannot do without recalling that there is no military solution to the crisis and we must have a political strategy. It is fundamentally important to keep Washington engaged in the UN-led negotiation process and, in this perspective, we must continue to keep dialogue open with the major players in this crisis, and first of all Moscow.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Another complex, albeit entirely different, issue engaged the minister on Monday. The EU Foreign Ministers meeting offered the opportunity to meet with his British colleague, Boris Johnson, on the human drama of little Alfie, who suffered from a neurodegenerative disease and in respect of whom British authorities have decided to turn off the life support. It is a sad story intertwining ethical and legal issues not easily solved. Minister Alfano recalled that \u201cAlfie is a UK citizen and Italy respects the decisions taken within Britain\u2019s national jurisdiction\u201d and that \u201cthe British national health system and medical standards are among the highest in the world,\u201d but hoped that the wish expressed by Alfie\u2019s parents be granted to transfer the child to Rome\u2019s Bambin Ges\u00f9 hospital \u2013 a very high-level medical facility fully equipped to provide the best possible assistance in a case like this \u2013 which is willing to hospitalise Alfie on the basis of a concerted decision.<\/p>\n
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The minister celebrated the Day of Italian Research in the World with a tweet in which he said: \u201cOur Country is a developer of science, technology and innovation and we are proud of our researchers who, with their work, contribute to supporting scientific diplomacy and the excellence of our Country in the world.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The conference \u201c70 Years since the 1948 Elections\u201d, organised by the De Gasperi Foundation on Wednesday, 18 April, gave Minister Alfano the opportunity to speak of the European defence system, which is \u201cnever antagonist but complementary to NATO,\u201d and of Atlanticism as \u201cone of the pillars of Italy\u2019s foreign policy\u201d. The United States \u201cwere decisive not only then but remain essential now and for our future,\u201d said Alfano recalling that American soldiers \u201cgave up their lives to give us freedom and democracy\u201d,<\/p>\n
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On Thursday, 19 April, the minister defined the Austrian bill on the consular protection of the German- and Ladino-speaking citizens of Alto Adige \u201cabsolutely non-compliant with the EU regulations on European citizenship and consular matters and in complete violation of international law\u201d. He added: \u201cFor this reason, yesterday we mandated the Italian Ambassador in Vienna to submit a formal complaint to the Austrian Government on the cited bill on the basis of specific points of law.\u201d However, that same day, Austria announced that it had withdrawn the bill: \u201cWe have learnt with satisfaction that the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has informed us that the bill on Alto Adige has been withdrawn and the legislative process has been stopped,\u201d he said. \u201cStopping this text is the right response to the commitment and readiness with which the Italian Foreign Ministry followed the case from the beginning. The decision taken today by the Austrian Government proves that cooperation between European Countries is something to preserve with great care and equilibrium.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The minister also expressed his satisfaction for the European Commission\u2019s report \u201crecommending the opening of negotiations for the accession of Albania and of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,\u201d he said, \u201cas the deserved recognition of the important reforms implemented by these two Country\u2019s on the road towards European integration and their citizens\u2019 legitimate aspiration to become part of the EU in the future.\u201d He went on: \u201cItaly has always supported the EU enlargement process and will continue to support it as a strategic factor on the European agenda, fostering prosperity, security and stability of the whole continent.\u201d<\/p>\n
Still on Thursday, the minister chaired the meeting of the Joint Committee for Development Cooperation, at which he recalled that \u201cItaly is among the Countries that recorded the biggest net increase in Official Development Assistance this last year, reaching the appreciable amount of 5.7 billion dollars, 10.2% up from 2016. This confirms our Country as the 4th<\/sup> largest G7 donor country in percentage terms and the 6th<\/sup> largest in net contributions among the member Countries of the Development Assistance Committee”. He added: \u201cWe have approved programmes and initiatives worth a total of more than 16 million euros concerning different geographical areas, spanning from Africa to the Middle East, from Asia to Europe.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n On Saturday, 21 April, Minister Alfano flew to Toronto to attend the G7 Foreign Ministers meeting. Before travelling to Canada, Mr Alfano commented on the new conciliatory steps taken by North Korea with the suspension of the nuclear tests and of the launch of ballistic missiles and the closing of a site. He said: \u201cIt is a positive development and a step in the right direction. I hope that it will favour the success of the imminent summit meetings and contribute to achieve the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation of the Peninsula.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n At his arrival in Toronto on 22 April, the minister\u2019s first tweet was precisely on Italy effort to \u201cboost peace and security in the world”.<\/p>\n The agenda of the G7 meeting addressed a large number of issues: Iran, North Korea, the Middle East, Syria, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Myanmar and Venezuela. At a working luncheon at the residence of his Canadian colleague, Minister Alfano \u201creaffirmed Italy\u2019s commitment to assist Ukraine in its efforts to achieve full economic recovery and support negotiations for a sustainable political solution to the crisis\u201d.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n While the minister was still in Toronto, there were new developments in the case of little Alfie. On 23 April, news was released that Alfano and the Minister of the Interior Minister, Marco Minniti, had granted Italian citizenship to the little boy \u201choping that, as an Italian citizen, the child might be immediately transferred to Italy,\u201d the Foreign Ministry announced.<\/p>\n On the following day, the minister informed: \u201cMeeting the request submitted by Niger\u2019s authorities a few weeks ago, a humanitarian flight took off today with a load of approximately 15 tones of medicines for the local population.\u201d The flight took off from the United Nations Humanitarian Defence Depot (UNHDR) in Brindisi managed by the World Food Programme carrying medicine kits for the most widespread diseased in the Country and hard-to-find medical supplies.<\/p>\n Syria was again on the international diplomacy agenda on 25 April, when the second ministerial meeting was held in Brussels. Minister Alfano said: \u201cWe reaffirm our firm condemnation of the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime and our request that it be liable for crimes of war. It is essential to reach a United Nations-led political solution in Syria. Millions of people in Syria and in the neighbouring countries are suffering and need immediate assistance. This year Italy is contributing with 48 million euros.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n On Thursday, 26 April, Minister Alfano went to Paris to attend the conference \u201cNo money for terror\u201d on combating the financing of Daesh and Al-Qaeda. \u00a0<\/p>\n The conference offered the opportunity to stimulate the international community to raise its efforts to combat terrorism. Minister Alfano conveyed the following message: \u201cLet\u2019s be clear: our enemy is strong. But if I think of the strength of our freedoms and of our founding values, I am certain that we will prevail over any criminal or terrorist intent. This is why it is important to be here in Paris today, with the intention \u2013 stronger than ever before \u2013 to all work together.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Following with his international engagements, on Friday, 27 April, Minister Alfano returned to Brussels for the NATO Foreign Ministers meeting. The meeting\u2019s agenda was on the following issues: NATO-Russia relations, defence expenditure, Iran and Western Balkans, and gave Alfano the opportunity to meet with the newly appointed US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n “Today\u2019s meeting between the leaders of the two Koreas is an encouraging sign of conciliation that I confide will be followed by further tangible progress,\u201d said the minister after his meeting with Pompeo. He added: \u201cI strongly hope that, thanks to Washington\u2019s strong impulse and leadership and to the determination of the whole international community, it will be a step on the road towards the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation of the Peninsula.\u201d<\/p>\n The week ended on Saturday with the sad news of the death of little Alfie. \u201cGoodbye, we loved you,\u201d were Minister Alfano\u2019s words of grief.<\/p>\n “L’incontro di oggi tra i leader delle due Coree rappresenta un incoraggiante segnale di distensione cui confido faranno seguito altri concreti progressi” ha fatto sapere il ministro, dopo l’incontro con Pompeo. “Auspico vivamente – ha aggiunto Alfano – che, grazie al forte impulso e alla leadership di Washington e alla determinazione di tutta la comunit\u00e0 internazionale, si tratti di un passo verso l’obiettivo della denuclearizzazione completa, verificabile ed irreversibile della Penisola”.<\/p>\n La settimana si conclude sabato<\/strong> con la triste notizia della morte del piccolo Alfie. \u201cAddio ti abbiamo voluto bene\u201d, sono le parole di cordoglio di Alfano.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An intense week of international meetings and the case of little Alfie Minister Angelino Alfano went to Brussels on Monday, 16 April, to attend the EU Foreign Affairs Council where the issues on the agenda focused on the difficult situation in Syria and the relations with Iran and the Russian Federation, and where he participated […]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[76],"class_list":["post-9954","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-approfondimenti","tag-ministri-precedenti"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9954","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=9954"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9954\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"settimana4\"](\"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/mae\/resource\/img\/2018\/05\/settimana4.jpg\")
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