A Stronger Italian-German Partnership: Closer Cooperation in Time of Energy Crisis

For over a year, Italy and Germany discussed the possibility of signing a common “Action Plan”, an agreement designed to cultivate a practical cooperation between Berlin and Rome in some specific policy fields. The war in Ukraine and the resulting energy challenge are currently at the top of the list. In the energy sector, Italy and Germany face the same dilemma, which encompasses foreign policy priorities, alternative energy sources and the investments in the framework of Next Generation EU. In November 2022, the Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI), the Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP) and the Hanns Seidel Stiftung (HSS), in strategic partnership with Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo, hosted the first edition of the Italian-German Strategic Dialogue (IGSD), a joint roundtable whose goal was to strengthen ties between the two countries and identify potentials for cooperation. The conference was attended by scholars, experts, business representatives and policy makers. This document provides a summary of the key findings and policy recommendations emerged throughout the debate.

Report of the first edition of the Italian-German Strategic Dialogue (IGSD), organised by IAI, SWP and HSS in November 2022.