Dear Mr President,
the Rosario Livatino Study Centre’s annual national conference has over time become an irreplaceable point of reference for those with a passion for study, reflection and exploring the great challenges of our time with regard to values, culture, politics and anthropology.
I have always admired the work of both your study centre and the legal professionals who bring it to life, and I must confess I have used your analyses on several occasions, which are always accurate and never banal.

I wish to greet Undersecretary of State Mantovano and all the renowned speakers who will be contributing to today’s discussion devoted to Europe’s present and future. Decisive elections are about to be held, when citizens will be called upon to choose between two models of Europe: on the one hand, an overly centralised, bureaucratic superstate that is an enemy to national specificities and is based on new competences and ever-increasing sovereignty being transferred from governments and parliaments that have been legitimised by the people to the European Commission; and, on the other, a confederation of sovereign nations that are united on the big issues but are free to address matters that are strictly of national importance, guaranteeing the principle of subsidiarity laid down in the European Union Treaties.

We believe in this latter model and are working to build it. In other words, we do not want a Europe that seeks to dictate what we should eat, which car we should drive, how we should renovate our homes, what clothes we should wear and perhaps even how we should write and think. This an arrogant and invasive Europe that goes against its citizens’ freedom.

We want a strong and authoritative Europe that does less, but better. Doing better means having a Europe that deals with the big issues, starting with foreign policy and common security, and that plays a leading role in the world and in crisis situations, but then leaves everything else to the freedom and sovereignty of each nation.

Those who care about Europe’s future also have another duty to fulfil: to wake Europe up from the deep sleep it has been in and that has made it forget its origins and its roots. Europe is the land where faith, reason and humanism achieved extraordinary harmony, making fertile ground on which to build the great cathedrals, create the welfare state and increasingly separate the State from the Church, developing a society that puts people first and has people as its ultimate goal.
This is the Europe we love. This is the real Europe we want to pass down, thriving and prosperous, to our children and grandchildren. 

To succeed in this challenge, intellectual reflection and cultural elaboration are a must. The Rosario Livatino Study Centre has taken on this responsibility and I can only thank you and ask you to continue along this path, with the perseverance, tenacity and courage that have always distinguished your commitment.

I wish you all the best with your work.

[Courtesy translation]