Renzi: Europe and Italy need to change together

Change Italy for changing Europe. Matteo Renzi’s program moved on two overlapping levels: from the Semester of the Italian Presidency of the Union to the renovation of Italy. In the speech made earlier today at the Italian Lower House for presenting the program of the forthcoming semester, the Italian PM did not illustrate only the guidelines to be followed in the next six months, but launched a “challenge to the Parliament” too – realizing in 1,000 days an “organic package of reforms” containing indications on “how to change tax system, what to do dealing with rights, agriculture, public authorities and welfare.” The idea is that we need to understand “which kind of Italy we are presenting” in order to say “which is the Europe we want.” That is – according to Renzi’s thoughts – if we want to change Europe we need to reform Italy.

Growth, fight against unemployment, management of migration flows, shared foreign policies, technological innovation: these are the milestones of the forthcoming Italian Semester. The Prime Minister explained them at the Parliament – at the Lower House in the morning, at the Upper House in the afternoon – and were accompanied by a discussion about the issue of the appointments to be made for top positions at the European institutions. Issue to be discussed at the EuCo next Thursday and Friday, on which the government hopes to find “a general agreement.”

At the Parliament, Renzi talked proudly about leading “the party which received more votes than anyone else in Europe.” He then thinks he’s been “able to listen to citizens” better than other people has. This is why he’s sure he could be a leader in Europe too. Europe “is not a complex of requests coming from ‘another’ place” he said, it is “what we build.”

The Europe he wants to build is the Europe of growth. Yet, he was clear and said “we need to change direction, or there won’t be any possibility of growth or development.” He’s mad with the “priests of austerity.” He’s OK with stability, still “stability without growth means paralysis.” Actually, Renzi is not mad with Germany in particular. Even though he removed some stones from his shoes, reminding the audience of 2003, year in which Berlin asked for – and obtained – the possibility of “exceeding the ‘3% rule’ because it made forward-looking and judicious reforms.” Still, Italy does not want to breach any rule “we’ve always respected them and we’re going to continue,” but “there are different ways and means to interpret them.” For instance, it seems like we are living “into a horror film” when “Europe opens an infringement procedure against you, because of late payments from the public authorities, and in the meantime it prevents you from paying them through the Stability and Growth Pact.”

Another priority indicated by Renzi is job creation. “Europe should be capable of fighting its war against unemployment, or no stability will be possible.” Dealing with this, the PM wanted to underline the reasons why he decided to postpone at the end of the Semester the Informal Council on Labour, initially programmed for July. There’s is “an internal reason for this,” he explained, “because we would like to be there with our legislative decree (‘Jobs Act’) approved by the Parliament.” Then, an “external” reason, given by the fact that “it would have been impossible to have a strict verification of the Youth Guarantee program” in July. A very dear program for the Italian Prime Minister, who said “at this week European Council we’re going to underline that it needs a solid basis.”

Another crucial issue to be discussed at European level is migration: in the next Council Renzi will ask for the “Mare Nostrum program to be included in Frontex Plus.” The Prime Minister warned that for a truly united Europe “a single currency or a common President are not enough, we need common values.” One of these is welcoming migrants – because “Europe cannot tell a fisherman from Calabria to use only a certain kind of nets and then, when the sea is full of corpses, turn away. This is not a Europe of civilization.” Then, “in case of tragedies due to migration we have to listen to ‘this is not an issue concerning us’, then I’d say keep your currency and we’ll keep our values.”

So far, the issues the government wants to boost in order to get real actions immediately. Then, Renzi underlined the awareness that “the role of Member States leading the Presidency Semester” is “limited” – it’s more about “moral suasion” he said. But Renzi wants to use this power too – in order to stimulate European partners on other issues too. For instance, a common foreign policy, which “cannot be reduced only to the problems we are experiencing with Russia,” but needs to be forward-looking, for instance being aware of its relation with “Africa and Asia” which need to be seen as “great, potential opportunities.”