Quale futuro per l'integrazione europea?

“Europe is the solution to the crisis, not the cause” said Bernard Cazeneuve, France's European Affairs Minister, meeting today with members and guests of the IAI, the Italian Institute of International Affairs. During his visit to Rome, Cazeneuve is planning to talk to various members of the Italian government.

Entitled “Which future for European integration?”, the meeting was an opportunity for the minister, who was introduced by the IAI’s President Stefano Silvestri, to explain the French view of the links between the European Union and the economic crisis: the European response has to include three features, rigour, growth and solidarity.

Cazeneuve called Italy one of France’s “privileged partners” in Europe, along with others, especially Germany. He insisted that the Union's credibility depends on its ability to implement its decisions.

The minister touched on the prospects for European integration, affirming that France, like Italy, is in favour of a political union, but this has to be desired by the citizens rather than just the governments. That’s why people have to know what makes the union desirable; its advantages, such as in facing the crisis and boosting growth, have to be explained. A plan that is not only institutional will then have to be worked out, and finally, ways devised on how to share sovereignty with institutions that have more democratic legitimacy than the current ones.