Mr President, honourable Senators,

the new European legislative term has begun in a climate of concern and uncertainty, due to the ongoing war in Ukraine, the dramatic escalation in the Middle East, geopolitical shifts and the many difficulties facing the European economy, partly a result of these scenarios and partly caused by past mistakes.

The European Union is facing these challenges following elections that sent a number of very clear messages from European citizens, and with a new team who will be working alongside the re-elected President, Ursula von der Leyen. 

If the ongoing parliamentary process confirms the composition that has been announced, as of course we hope and believe it will, then Minister Raffaele Fitto will also be part of that team, having been appointed by President von der Leyen as Executive Vice-President of the European Commission. This is a considerable improvement for our nation if we look at the composition of the outgoing commission, which had four Executive Vice-Presidents and seven Vice-Presidents overall, none of whom were Italian.

Unlike what many predicted and perhaps what some were hoping for, this appointment confirms that Italy has a central role in Europe once again, and allow me to say that this is strengthened by a credible government that is ensuring political stability at a time when everything around us is unstable. In short, the reality is rather different from the continuous mantra claiming that Italy is isolated internationally. 

However, this above all acknowledges Italy’s role and influence as a founding member of the EU, Europe’s second largest manufacturer and the third largest economy on the continent. Contrary to what some would like, this means that the strength of Member States is more important than perceived political majorities, as indeed is only right and normal.

I believe the entire nation should be proud of this result, and not just the parties in the governing majority. This is also why I hope that all Italian political forces will play an active role in their European political families to make sure this important result for our nation is reached quickly and smoothly, enabling the Commission, at such a delicate time, to be fully operational by the first of December. There will be plenty of opportunities during this European legislative term to be divided on many issues in relation to which the various political forces often have radically different opinions, but when it comes to asserting the national interest, I believe we have a duty to stand united.

This is what we did during the last legislative term regarding the appointment of Paolo Gentiloni, when none other than Raffaele Fitto, representing Fratelli d’Italia, expressed his support for him as an Italian candidate and, as a result, the ECR Group voted in his favour. Silvio Berlusconi even asked to attend a working session for a committee that wasn’t his, in order to take the floor and express his support for Paolo Gentiloni.

There are times when the national interest must take precedence over party interests, and it is my sincere hope this will be one of those times, without discrimination and without hesitation, also considering – and I am not saying this to be argumentative, although I do want to clear up some opinions which I believe are not very correct and are certainly unfair – that the areas of responsibility assigned to Raffaele Fitto are of the highest level.

The Cohesion portfolio is worth a total of approximately EUR 378 billion (around EUR 43 billion of which are for Italy), out of an overall budget of EUR 1.2 trillion for the 2021-2027 cycle alone. That is without counting the future programming cycle which the next Commission will be called to define together with the other Member States (this is not quantifiable at the moment but will presumably be of a similar size). For a nation like Italy, and especially for the Mezzogiorno, this is a primary national interest.

In addition, there is also the NRRP portfolio, which is worth approximately another EUR 600 billion. This is a guarantee for everyone, because thanks to the excellent work Fitto has carried out over the last two years, Italy is now the furthest ahead in implementing its National Recovery and Resilience Plan, despite it also having the largest out of all of them.

In accordance with the European Commission President’s indications, the NRRP portfolio is to be jointly managed with Commissioner Dombrovskis, and some have interpreted this collaboration as being a way to have some sort of rigorous oversight, while I believe this close and equal cooperation instead provides the Italian Commissioner with an opportunity to make the case for the greater flexibility that is needed with regard to investments. This has historically been Italy’s position and has only found initial, partial reflection in the Stability Pact reform that has just come into force.

This role will become even more important after June 2026, when the new governance rules will require all governments to plan for additional investments to those that will come to an end with the NRRP, unless the European Union decides to extend the deadline for the NextGenerationEU programme, as some nations are already requesting.

Furthermore, as specified in Raffaele Fitto’s mission letter from President von der Leyen, his area of responsibility, or of coordination to put it better, will include matters of decisive importance and strategic interest for Europe and for Italy: agriculture, transport, tourism, fishing and the marine economy.

These portfolios are strategic for Italy and for Europe, and are entrusted to Commissioners who must refer to the Executive Vice-President. They will be crucial to restore balance in a number of choices Europe has made over the last years which, as we know, have ended up heavily penalising some of these production sectors.

In my view, honourable Senators, the recent European elections marked a point of no return, giving us a clear indication to follow.
Tomorrow’s Europe can no longer be the same as yesterday’s and today’s Europe. It needs to change and completely rethink its priorities, its approach and its position. In other words, it needs to rediscover its role in history, especially at such a complex moment in time.

The question we need to ask ourselves is: what future do we intend to build for Europe? I am clearly not just referring to Europe as an institution, but to Europe as a political community and an authoritative and indispensable global player.

We are facing a completely new phase in geopolitics, which is increasingly characterised by interconnected challenges and is primarily telling us one thing: homogeneous blocks no longer exist, and it is a fact that our destinies are now interdependent. It is also a fact that the order we were used to is no longer a given; the central role of our continent is no longer a given.

Enrico Letta’s report on the internal market and, even more so, Mario Draghi’s report on European competitiveness have provided a clear snapshot of the figures and the reasons why our role has declined in recent decades.

Both reports – which have been written by two people who our often simplistic debate would define “Europhiles” – basically admit that the world we have taken for granted for too long is over, and that we therefore cannot let slip the historic opportunity this new European legislative term offers us: to finally, and courageously, choose what we want to be and where we want to go. In other words, we can either choose to keep being what we have been until now, so a bureaucratic giant that weighs down on citizens and businesses with its maze of regulations, many of which are senseless and self-destructive, or we can radically reverse this trend, focusing on our vision and the instruments needed to implement it.

This is what citizens asked us to do with their votes and, loyal as we are to the people’s sovereignty, we intend to follow up on this indication.

This is the spirit with which the Italian Government intends to navigate the European legislative term that has just begun.

At the European Council meeting in June, which was the first under this new term, we adopted the new 2024-2029 Strategic Agenda which will be the compass to guide our common path over the coming years.

Italy successfully asked for two principles to be reaffirmed in the document that was approved: subsidiarity and proportionality. These principles are enshrined in the Treaties and we consider them to be of key importance in the Europe we have in mind.

I am talking about a Europe that must deal with the major issues of common interest that require us to combine our efforts and pool together everyone’s contributions, and a Europe that also knows how to give due importance to national specificities in matters where individual states can do better.

The Strategic Agenda also clearly indicates the need to have adequate common resources and instruments as soon as possible that are up to the ambitions we are setting ourselves. We will work to ensure this indication becomes a reality, because no Member State, not even the most solid ones from an economic and fiscal point of view, is able to sustain alone the investments needed to take on the challenges we are facing, from boosting the competitiveness of Europe’s production and industrial system to the dual environmental and digital transition, from defence and security policy to the management of migration flows.

The European Council will once again be discussing how to strengthen Europe’s competitiveness, and Italy’s position on this is very clear. I shan’t dwell on this too much, but I do believe it is appropriate to reiterate a few points.

The ideological approach that accompanied the creation of the European Green Deal and has supported its development thus far has had disastrous effects. This has been our position since day one, and we were often alone, but today, finally, it has instead become commonplace. It is not true that the only possible path to defend the environment and nature is the one defined by a blatantly ideological minority.

Even the most staunch and zealous supporters of this approach have realised that it makes no sense to destroy thousands of jobs, dismantle entire industrial segments that generate wealth and employment, and condemn ourselves to new strategic dependencies, in order to pursue impossible to meet objectives. As I have said a thousand times, pursuing decarbonisation at the cost of deindustrialisation is quite simply suicide. There is nothing green about a desert, and the green transition, which we are in favour of, will not be possible if the economy is on its knees.

Phasing out combustion engines by 2035, so in little more than a decade, is one of the clearest examples of this wrong approach. The choice was made to impose conversion to just one technology – electric – for which, however, we do not have the raw materials, we do not control the value chains, there is a relatively low level of demand and the prices are beyond the means of most of our citizens. In short, it is madness and our economies are paying heavy consequences in terms of wealth, employment, production capacity and indeed competitiveness.

We are seeing this not only in Italy but also in economies typically viewed as being solid enough to withstand any change.

Hence why we were not at all surprised by the request made by the main association of car manufacturers to bring forward to 2025 the review of the goals linked to phasing out combustion engines. This came as no surprise to those who, like us, have been working since day one to make targets regarding the reduction of polluting emissions compatible with the economic sustainability of our value chains.

The courage is needed to reopen discussions at the same time as pursuing the path of technological neutrality, by also supporting technologies and value chains, such as biofuels, in which Italy and Europe can play a leading role. 

However, it is equally necessary to ask the question of how investments towards a cleaner automotive industry are to be funded and how we can support innovation and ensure increasing strategic autonomy, building European value chains to avoid handing ourselves over to new and dangerous dependencies.

The non-paper Minister [of Enterprises and Made in Italy] Urso has presented to colleagues from the other 26 Member States goes precisely in this direction, acting as a basis for discussion to broaden consensus on our position, which is inspired by common sense and pragmatism and leaves no room for ideological approaches.

Taking a broader look at other production sectors too, I cannot but agree with Mario Draghi in his report when he writes that the ambitious environmental goals we have set ourselves need to be supported by greater public and private resources, adequate investments and a coherent plan in order to reach them, otherwise the energy and environmental transition will be at the expense of competitiveness and growth. As I am sure you will acknowledge, I have touched on these issues several times before, and they should prompt us to think deeply but also quickly.

This means above all beginning to discuss the financial instruments that are necessary to support this process. As part of this debate, we should be ready to look into the possibility of new joint debt instruments and to work on finally managing to adequately mobilise private capital. Completing the capital markets union would in fact allow European savings to become European investments.

We know what we need to do but we now need to do it. We need concrete political action to turn our priorities into an ambitious European industrial strategy, in order to ensure business growth, industry protection and a simplification of the regulatory framework.

Another major focus of our discussions in Brussels will obviously be on the current geopolitical crises.

The European Council will reiterate its support for the Ukrainian cause, because everyone’s goal remains the same: to build the conditions for a just and lasting peace and to help Ukraine look to a future of prosperity and well-being.

I received President Zelensky here in Rome last Thursday and on that occasion I reaffirmed once again that defending Ukraine is in Italy’s and Europe’s interest, because it means protecting the international rules-based system that keeps the global community together and safeguards all nations.

Italy has signed a security agreement and we have arrived at the ninth package of military aid, again focusing on air defence in order to protect the population and civilian infrastructure. This is in addition to the comprehensive support Italy continues to provide, not least its help to restore energy production capacity following the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam.

We will also keep working to implement the agreement for the loan guaranteed by the interest generated by frozen Russian assets in Europe, an important result achieved by the Italian G7 Presidency.

As I have said many times before, looking to Ukraine’s future also means envisioning its reconstruction, which needs to be supported together with international financial institutions and the private sector. 

The Italian Government is already strongly committed to safeguarding Ukraine’s cultural heritage, starting in Odesa, where we are working to make the Transfiguration Cathedral safe after it was severely damaged by Russian bombings. On 10 and 11 July 2025, we will be hosting the Ukraine Recovery conference in Rome; the Government is already working on this important event and is counting on the support of all political parties and Italy’s entire economic system.

We will not resign ourselves to the idea of abandoning Ukraine, despite many suggesting we do so, nor to the idea of turning a blind eye to the violation of international law, quite simply because we know that when rules are broken, crises multiply, and we all pay the consequences. The invasion of Ukraine is indeed having destabilising effects far beyond the borders within which it is happening, contributing to ignite new crisis hotbeds or detonate the ones that had never gone out.

I am convinced that what is happening in the Middle East is also the result of this destabilisation. I would like to share with you my concern for the current escalation in Lebanon, because I am sincerely concerned about how the situation is evolving in spite of ours and our allies’ countless efforts.

Over the last few days, for the first time in a year of Israeli military action, bases of the Italian military contingent assigned to the United Nations UNIFIL mission came under fire from the Israeli army. 

Even though there were no victims or major damage, I do not think this can be considered acceptable, and this is precisely the position Italy has taken, with determination, at all levels. This is the position I have also personally reiterated to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

We demand that the safety of our soldiers be guaranteed, both those serving as part of the UNIFIL mission and those assigned to the bilateral MIBIL mission; for years, they have contributed to security along the Israel-Lebanon border, together with the rest of the international community. We therefore consider the Israeli forces’ approach to be completely unjustified, as well as being a clear violation of the provisions of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701. On the other hand, we cannot ignore that Hezbollah has also violated that same resolution over the years, by working to militarise the area falling under UNIFIL’s responsibility.

The Italian Government’s position is that we must work towards full application of Resolution 1701, by strengthening the capabilities of UNIFIL and of the Lebanese armed forces.

With that said, a few days ago we commemorated the first anniversary of Hamas’s inhumane attack against the Israeli people on 7 October 2023. We will not forget that massacre of defenceless citizens, including women and children, and the scorn for their bodies, that were so ruthlessly shown to the world.

Likewise, our thoughts are constantly with the hostages, who were torn away from their families and loved ones and, after a year, are still being held prisoner, waiting to return home.

Remembering and firmly condemning what happened on 7 October 2023 is the basis for any political action we need to take in order to restore peace in the Middle East, because albeit legitimate criticism of Israel is becoming increasingly mixed with justification of organisations like Hamas and Hezbollah and this, whether we like it or not, reveals something else. It reveals a mounting anti-Semitism which I believe should be of concern to us all, as the public demonstrations over recent days have unfortunately undoubtedly confirmed.

In this regard, allow me to once again express both mine and the entire Government’s solidarity with all the law enforcement officers who have been insulted and attacked by self-styled “protesters” using any excuse to vent their senseless violence. It is intolerable for dozens of officers to be injured during a street demonstration.

As I hope and expect everyone in this hall will do too, I wish to thank Minister [of the Interior] Piantedosi, the Chief of Police, and all the men and women who work every day to safeguard our security. 

We defend Israel’s right to live in peace and security, but we stress the need for this to happen in compliance with international humanitarian law. We are not indifferent to the enormous toll of innocent civilian victims in Gaza, and it is no coincidence that our work has been focusing on them from the very beginning.

The humanitarian situation in Gaza is of increasing concern, and our commitment is also continuing on this front. As part of the ‘Food for Gaza’ initiative, more than 47 tonnes of food supplies have been delivered inside the Strip, for which I wish to thank Minister of Foreign Affairs Antonio Tajani.

Right after the military escalation began in Lebanon, we approved new and immediate humanitarian measures worth EUR 17 million, which will also support the people who have recently had to leave their homes as well as the communities hosting them.

We have approved EUR 5 million in contributions for UNRWA’s work in the West Bank and to support Palestinian refugees in Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. Italy stands ready to support specific UNRWA projects, but only following thorough checks to prevent any links to terrorist activities. 

The consequences of Hamas’s attack have triggered a regional escalation that risks having unpredictable outcomes.
It is our duty to continue with all possible efforts to reach a de-escalation, bringing dialogue back to prevail over the use of force, although this is far from being a simple task.

Italy condemned Iran’s attack on Israel and has appealed for responsibility among all regional players, asking them to avoid further deterioration.

We also reiterated this the day after the attack together with the other G7 leaders. This cycle of violence must be broken, and we must be unanimous in firmly inviting all sides to make constructive efforts to ease the tensions.

Italy is working on a daily basis for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the release of Israeli hostages and stabilisation of the Israel-Lebanon border, through full application of United Nations resolutions.

We confirm our support for all mediation efforts, in particular those by the United States, as well as our commitment to work towards a lasting political solution based on the prospect of two states, in which Israel and Palestine peacefully co-exist side by side, with security for both.

The increase in tensions and military escalation have also worsened the refugee crisis in Syria, Jordan and other countries in the region. It is crucial to deal with this emergency, which is getting increasingly worse and requires an even more resolute commitment from Europe.

This is why I held a quadrilateral meeting with the King of Jordan, the President of Cyprus and the President of the European Commission at the recent Med9 summit, to discuss how to respond to this emergency.

Italy believes it is necessary to revise the European Union’s strategy for Syria and work with all players involved in order to create the conditions for Syrian refugees to be able to voluntarily return to their homeland in a safe and sustainable way. It is necessary to invest in early recovery, so that refugees deciding to return can find conditions that enable them to resettle in Syria. In this regard we are above all supporting the UNHCR’s efforts, and we have also decided to strengthen our diplomatic presence in Damascus.

Also with regard to international affairs, the European Council will be discussing the situation in Venezuela. This matter is particularly close to our hearts, also considering the very many citizens of Italian origin who live there, in a land whose name even has links to Venice and Italy.

We do not recognise Maduro’s proclaimed victory following the elections that greatly lacked in transparency, and we continue to condemn the unacceptable repression by the regime, requesting that all political prisoners be freed. We have reiterated this several times in all G7 statements during our presidency. Together with the European Union, we are working on a democratic and peaceful transition in the country, so that the aspirations of millions of Venezuelans, who keep risking their lives for a more democratic, prosperous and safe future, can finally come true.

During the European Council meeting, we will once again be dealing with another challenge in which both Italy and Europe as a whole are playing a leading role: the management of migration flows.

In the Strategic Agenda we approved in June, the European Union set very clear priorities: defending external borders, fighting mass irregular immigration, working to address the root causes of migration and supporting legal migration channels.

These guidelines for action must now be followed in this new European legislative term. Europe’s approach to migration is now very different to the past, thanks mainly to Italy’s drive, but it is crucial to work on giving substance to the new priorities.

I am proud that Italy has become a model for others on this matter. It is with great satisfaction that I have welcomed the attention that various representatives from both EU and non-EU governments, from different political backgrounds, have paid to our policies over the last weeks and months – France, Germany, Sweden and the United Kingdom to name a few. This shows the pragmatism and efficiency with which we have worked to fight illegal immigration.

Figures give a better idea of this efficiency than words can. In 2024, the number of illegal immigrants arriving by boat has dropped by 60% compared with 2023, and by 30% compared with 2022. This is thanks to the Government’s policies, certainly, but it is also thanks to Europe’s support for many of our proposals, such as the memoranda of understanding with Tunisia and Egypt.

I would like to take this opportunity to also thank Minister [of Infrastructure and Transport] Salvini and above all the Italian Coastguard for their extraordinary work, and to express the Government’s solidarity with these men and women in the face of the continuous one-sided attacks they come under from politicised organisations that detest anyone working to counter mass illegal immigration.

I consider it shameful that the non-governmental organisation Sea Watch defines coastguards as the real human traffickers, wanting to delegitimise all those from northern African states, and perhaps even the Italian one, so as to then give the green light to the people smugglers whom this NGO instead describes as innocent, and who apparently accidently find themselves driving boats full of illegal immigrants. These shameful statements reveal the true role played by certain NGOs and the responsibilities of those financing them.     

The number of boats arriving is decreasing and, more importantly, there has also been a drop in the number of deaths and people lost at sea. Also in this regard, the downward trend is being consolidated, which we are particularly proud of as it proves that what we have always said is right, i.e., that the only way to prevent other tragedies at sea is to stop the departures and fight the ruthless traffickers.

We have also worked on promoting regular entry channels. Not only have we planned for approximately 450,000 regular entries for the 2023-2025 period, but we are also working to ensure the decree on migration flows functions well, ensuring its provisions leave no room for illegality.

We in fact found ourselves faced with a mechanism for fraud and bypassing the regular entry process, with strong interference from organised crime groups.

We filed a complaint with the National Anti-Mafia Prosecutor’s Office, and over the last few days we have adopted a decree-law with specific measures to correct existing wrongs and prevent rules from being circumvented. 

We intend to work to consolidate this approach, at both national and European level. This is why an informal meeting among the Member States that have the most interest in the migration phenomenon will be held already on the occasion of this European Council meeting, at Italy’s initiative.

In the meantime, we are seeing a new focus on the issue of returns, also aimed at strengthening Europe’s current legal framework, in relation to which we have welcomed the new French government’s interest and what President von der Leyen said in the margins of the Med9 summit in Cyprus.

While on the one hand we are committed to strengthening the instruments the European Union and its Member States already have, on the other we must continue exploring innovative solutions.

Italy has set a good example by signing the Italy-Albania protocol in order to process asylum requests on Albanian territory but under Italian and European jurisdiction. The two facilities provided for under this agreement – the centre in Shengjin and the one in Gjader – are now ready and operational.

We took some extra time to ensure everything was done in the best way possible, and we are very satisfied with the results of this work. Also in this regard, I would like to thank Minister [of Defence] Crosetto, Minister [of the Interior] Piantedosi and Minister [of Justice] Nordio in particular, as well as Undersecretary of State Mantovano and our Embassy in Albania, who have followed the protocol’s implementation step by step.

This is a new, brave and unprecedented path, but it perfectly reflects the European spirit and has the potential to be followed with other non-EU states too. I would also like to thank Prime Minister Rama and the rest of his Government again for believing, together with us, in the effectiveness of this initiative.

Italy’s geographic positioning in the centre of the Mediterranean makes us a natural meeting point between the West and the South of the world. This represents an extraordinary advantage if it is true, as indeed it is, that a nation’s geostrategic position can be just as important as its economic and financial strength.

This is especially the case if we think about the new central role the Mediterranean has gone back to playing, as an area connecting the Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific, through the Persian Gulf and Suez Canal.

This is also why we consider it important that the new European Commission includes a portfolio dedicated to the Mediterranean, and we are paying a great deal of attention to the future ‘Pact for the Mediterranean’ which I hope will allow us to systematise the European Union’s new equal partnership approach towards its southern neighbourhood.

Following the same reasoning, we also consider it important that the European Union has decided to organise the first EU-Gulf Cooperation Council summit, to be held tomorrow, 16 October. This will be an opportunity to deepen our partnership with Gulf nations and find new possibilities for cooperation in key areas, particularly in the current international context. 

If Italy chooses to look south, then Europe will naturally be driven to do so too, and this opens up great opportunities, above all from a geopolitical point of view.

It is no secret that we are not the only ones to be looking to Africa; there are other players, with Russia and China taking the lead, and they are pursuing their own strategies, often with a much more assertive approach than ours.

With regard to relations with African nations, I am still convinced that we remain potentially more competitive, because our objective is not to fuel chaos in an attempt to plunder Africa of its resources, but rather to allow African countries to use those resources to be able to live off what they have, with stable governments and prosperous societies.

As you know, we have defined our approach with the Mattei Plan for Africa, in relation to which several projects are already underway in the first nine African nations involved. This Plan is attracting increasing attention and curiosity at international level. We have led the way on this too, and I am not saying this to be argumentative, but it is regrettable that while the whole world is looking to us thanks precisely to our Africa strategy, and while Italy’s entire economic system has shown that it understands the significance of this initiative, the opposition parties have instead chosen the path of prejudiced opposition once again.

We shared the Plan with Parliament precisely in order to involve all political parties in what we believe continues to be a strategy that Italy needs, not as a project that is useful for the Meloni Government. However, I would like to say that I am always ready and willing to discuss this with everyone, should the Italian national interest be put before party interests for once.

Mr President, honourable Senators, many have defined tomorrow’s European Council meeting as one of “transition”, between the old European institutional cycle and the new one.

This is true, but is also precisely why this European Council meeting will be so important, as it will lay the foundations of the strategy to be adopted over the coming years. As always, Italy will do its part, ready to chart the course on many issues on which it has amply demonstrated its ability to be assertive, because this nation lacks nothing. It has solidity, vision, creativity and the reliability to be a point of reference. At times, yes, it has lacked an awareness of its role, pride in its traditions, and the courage to chart the course, limiting itself instead to following the paths mapped out by others. Fortunately, however, that era is now behind us.

Thank you.

[Courtesy translation]