France/Italie: scenarios stratégiques bilatéraux

The delicacy of the relationship between France and Italy is often underestimated. Indeed geographic proximity, shared history and the degree of integration of these two countries within the European framework tend to relegate the bilateral dimension to the background. Despite the importance of synergies and good political relations, some areas are breeding grounds for confrontation, but there are also opportunities for collaboration. It is for this reason that the IAI organised a France-Italy Strategic Forum in 2015 focusing on three subjects: security and defence policies, projection to the south of the Mediterranean, and energy policies. In each of these areas, the exchange between French and Italian researchers, analysts and academics helped highlight a range of issues in the bilateral dimension. Regarding the projection to the south of the Mediterranean as well as scenarios of security and defence, it was observed that the perception of the political context differs. This is largely due to differences in interpretation and projection of force during the intervention in Libya in 2011. Since then, France and Italy have struggled to understand each other in the context of growing threats related to instability and terrorism. In the energy sector, it was noted that the two countries are on substantially different trajectories and that there are therefore possible scenarios of cooperation, such as in the electricity sector with the flexibility of Italian production and the continuity of French production.

Report of three seminars organised in 2015 by the Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI) in cooperation with the Institut français Italia in the framework of the project “France-Italy Strategic Forum”. Published also in Italian: Documenti IAI 16|02 (Francia/Italia: scenari strategici bilaterali).