Brussels – These are moments of uncertain times for our continent. Amid rearmament, tariffs, and conflicts, Italian and European citizens feel disoriented; they look for answers, demanding decisive, united action: doing something together. As often happens in times of trouble, this general sense of bewilderment has turned the appeal of an individual into something bigger, a demonstration in favor of the unity and freedom of the European Union. The appointment is on Saturday, March 15, for the initiative Una Piazza per l’Europa (A Square for Europe) in Piazza del Popolo in Rome and dozens of other Italian cities. It will be a non-partisan demonstration, with only European flags for all citizens who wish to say yes to the EU.
The initiative, which grew rapidly as the days went by, started from an appeal that journalist Michele Serra launched in the pages of Repubblica in a Feb. 22 editorial entitled “Say something European.” “I wondered why not organize a large demonstration of citizens for Europe, its unity, and its freedom, with zero party flags, only European flags. Something that says, with the sometimes unrelenting power of slogans, ‘Here we make Europe, or we die,'” Serra later explained.
Italian mayors immediately welcomed the proposal, with Roberto Gualtieri making himself available to host it in the Capital. ANCI national president and mayor of Naples, Gaetano Manfredi, relaunched the idea, proposing to expand the event to all Italian municipalities, garnering the endorsement of fifteen mayors from different sides, including Beppe Sala (Milan), Stefano Lo Russo (Turin), Matteo Lepore (Bologna), Sara Funaro (Florence), Roberto Lagalla (Palermo), Massimo Zedda (Cagliari), Vito Leccese (Bari) and Luigi Brugnaro (Venice). The event will also see parallel demonstrations in Brussels at Place da l’Albertine, where at 3:30 pm, political, trade union, and civic groups will gather, including the Democratic Party (PD) circle and pro-European associations such as Tutti Europa 2030 and Associazione Giuseppe Mazzini.
Matteo Renzi of Italia Viva, Carlo Calenda of Azione, Elly Schlein of the PD, Giorgio Mulè of Forza Italia, and Pier Ferdinando Casini of Centrists for Europe were among the first to announce that they would be there, agreeing not to show party flags and symbols. In Piazza del Popolo, there will be Legambiente, Agesci, Legacoop, and the Community of Sant’Egidio, as well as +Europa, the LGBTQ+ associations, and, to no small protest from the grassroots, the CGIL, Cisl, and Uil trade unions which will reiterate “the importance of defending the common European project and the democratic foundations on which it is based.” ANPI will reaffirm its support for a peaceful Europe, rejecting the Rearm Europe plan by mobilizing its delegations throughout the country.
Despite numerous endorsements, fractures are emerging within the center-left regarding participating in the event. Alliance Greens and Left (AVS) supported the initiative but with some clarifications. Angelo Bonelli and Nicola Fratoianni said they joined the call for the square but stressed the need to emphasize their position: no to spending on arms, yes to social spending. During yesterday’s (March 12) protest in Strasbourg, Giuseppe Conte lashed out against the initiative, saying the 5-Star Movement would not take to the square: “Today, demonstrating for this Europe means demonstrating for this rearmament plan. Citizens cannot be subjected to the ‘ambiguity of a square where so many exponents will carry the flags of the war economy.”
The center-right was more critical. Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani (Forza Italia) said: “There must be support for Europe but with concrete reforms, not symbolic events.” The position of some members of Fratelli d’Italia, who see the initiative as a belated and superficial response to the challenges the EU faces, was harsher. Minister Guido Crosetto commented: “Waving a flag is not enough to make Europe stronger. We need serious policies on common defense, energy, and industry.” Matteo Salvini, secretary of the League, chose a more confrontational stance: “While some people demonstrate with flags, we work to change this Europe, which today crushes workers, farmers, and entrepreneurs with absurd rules.”
Also among the most critical is the initiative is Potere al Popolo, which said it would organize a counter-demonstration “against the warmongers” in Rome’s Piazza Barberini on Saturday: “The ‘Serra’ effect harms peace,” is the slogan of the event.
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
