Tomorrow, Monday, Angela Merkel and François Hollande are guests of Matteo Renzi on the island of Ventotene, to honor Altiero Spinelli, Ernesto Rossi and Eugenio Colorni, drafters of the manifesto that called for the founding of the United States of Europe. Writing the actual program had lasted several years, after which it was circulated clandestinely and finally, in 1944, freely in Italy and in other European countries.
The seed was sown and was actually picked up by three personalities for that too became part of European history: Schuman, Adenauer, De Gasperi, France, Germany and Italy, who joined the Ventotene Manifesto and founded as a first concrete step the coal and steel Community, which followed immediately after a ‘supervisory authorities and driving and the signing in Rome in 1957 of the European Treaties. Starting with a European Parliament with relevant institutions that culminated in a real confederation of states: Italy, Germany, France, Benelux (Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg). Then Spain, Portugal, Austria and so on. The result is known in both the positive phase it is in the negative, until the acceding States became 28 and among them 19 joined the single currency called the euro, created and put into circulation between 1999 and 2002.
I remember these characters to highlight the significance of tomorrow that takes place in a very bad climate for Europe.
Waves of migrants from South African and East Slavic; Economic stagnation crisis; birth of movements and xenophobic parties, populist, against the common currency; Great Britain withdrew from the Union, more and more wide spread of Islamic terrorism led by the Caliphate, the religious and political that leverages social peripheries of the whole world and finally on the visible decline of the European sentiment that is spreading across the continent and showcases doubt even the current confederal institutions thereby making distant and doubtful the transition to the Federation which was the center of Spinelli’s Manifesto.
Tomorrow Italy, France and Germany will gather just to stem this situation nothing short of desperate. What will come out of this meeting between the three powers which now represent a kind of triumvirate born to indicate (certainly not to impose) the policy, social and economic Europe should follow?
* **
Three days ago I received a phone call from Matteo Renzi, completely unexpected. We called the first time last fall to organize a debate on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of Republic , on January 14, 1976. The debate was there and was very positive: checked out the existence of personal common points of view and many other profound disagreement in an atmosphere of mutual kindness. Since then we had never had neither met nor communicated over the phone. My journalistic work in some aspects were positive for Renzi, especially in its European policy were increased but at the same time a dissent was configured on a fundamental issue: the electoral law that Italicum and its connections with the constitutional referendum.
his phone call made me certainly pleasure for the argument that motivated: the encounter and the meaning of what will happen tomorrow in Ventotene. It was a phone call a little ‘long because then there was talk of nothing else. I think it is useful that our audience knows the issues of the various topics covered. Moreover there is no motivation which imposes confidentiality.
The Spinelli Manifesto is very clear objective: a federal Europe, the United States like the USA. As far removed from the current reality. France has historically defended its sovereignty as well as did the UK. The rest were two great empires and this weighs on their national sentiment. Britain is the EU output, the French do not, in fact, its president tomorrow will be even in Ventotene.
The case of Germany is not much different: it too was an empire and especially is the most populous and economically strongest country in Europe; therefore, some of the assumptions of the US parificano the German state of any other federation. Yet even Germany in the person of his Chancellor will celebrate tomorrow the Spinelli Manifesto. Renzi should be happy about this fact and we, Italian-Europeans, with him. This told me this, and I agree, but then we switched to concrete symbol.
Renzi has for some months provided for the creation of a Eurozone finance minister, adhering to the thesis of Mario Draghi. However, the proposal did not make a single step forward. Now Renzi, going from symbolism to the concrete, should put the issue to be put into practice without any alternative, at least as far as Germany because France and the governor of its central bank have already joined. Merkel does not and even more negative is its Economy Minister Schäuble, and the governor of the Bundesbank.
Well Renzi, in my opinion, should put Merkel faced with the need that these resistances are exceeded without reducing the European Minister at a scenic figure rather than political. It must have the powers they have in the economies of their countries, the Ministers of Treasury and Finance. Among these powers, along with the ECB, there is the issue of the European Treasuries, which brings with it the eurozone sovereign balance sheet and the ability to incur debts and disburse loans. The Eurozone would become thus the core of a European federal state, open to any other EU country that is not part of the Eurozone.
It is true that the Board of Government of the 27 Heads of States It may oppose this decision, but the Eurozone is the strongest team whether it is compact and if Germany is convinced; then the 19 eurozone countries will also be compact.
In short, this was one of the battles, and perhaps the main Renzi who will engage in the months ahead. Our Prime Minister, however, has shown me that I could bring Merkel on this ground, with the upcoming German elections is certainly not an easy task.
***
But not it’s just the economy as institutional fact which must become a European reality. There Italian economy that gave us recent disappointment: our domestic product, GDP, is stopped and is among the lowest in Europe in its dynamics. Here, in my opinion, there have been mistakes and, just to mention one to correct today, and you had to choose a cut as consistent as possible in the tax wedge. It would give businesses and workers who depend on them a very considerable increase in production with automatic effect on demand and thus on consumption. We stopped shortly on this ground. Renzi and Padoan know the problem but traccheggiano. I do not understand the reason.
Other topics that we quickly discussed. Renzi will offer its guests in the meeting of Ventotene on an old aircraft carrier “Garibaldi” the formation of battalions trained by the armed forces of the EU, to help with the special troops of America and France and even England itself invited by the US . This idea was already made a few days ago by the Foreign Minister, Gentiloni, and the Defense Minister, Pinotti. A very important project to be undertaken.
Another issue was to particularly close alliance between the European countries of the South. Renzi will go in the next few days in Greece and meet Tsipras. I have already agreed and will invite to participate in France, Spain, Portugal. Germany – said Renzi – is not contrary is indeed favorable that the Union is South interests of the Libyan coast and throughout the Maghreb trying to hold back the emigration and establishing interventions in African countries of origin of migrants.
The third and final problem: the referendum and Italicum. Renzi has realized that the electoral law must be profoundly changed, but for now just wants to make some small tweaks which will discuss promising substantial changes to that law only after the approval of the referendum. In the meantime, however, he looks forward to October 4 and in the days immediately following the deliberations of the Constitutional Court.
We’re all waiting for that ruling. The issue for me is still to eliminate the runoff: a tripolar system like the current runoff is extremely dangerous. Renzi if this will make the “Yes” will win, otherwise it will be “No” to win. It is said that in that case he should resign. But the Senate would be abolished and the bicameral system would continue with all the consequences. We think about our prime minister, because his European role that is growing has its basis in the role that Italy has. If he loses it will have to change jobs. Who should decide is he alone. If wrong, even Europe will suffer and would not be a party even for his opponents. Who is guilty of his ill cry himself.
No comments:
Post a Comment