German-Italian Strategic Forum on Europe

This project, developed in cooperation with the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) Office in Rome and the Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP) in Berlin, filled a gap in the already intense and regular dialogue between government and representatives of both private sector and civil society of Italy and Germany, namely the need for a high-level dialogue between experts and functionaries. The project consisted in the organization of a yearly forum – alternately held in Rome or Berlin – in which the members of the IAI, SWP and FES staffs met with the two countries’ representatives of government, institutions, and politics in order to discuss the issues on the European agenda, with particular emphasis on the Italian and German perspectives. The first meeting was held in Rome in September 2016.
In 2020 the forum was held virtually. The discussion focused on the challenges of the EU's current political agenda, the prospects for the Conference on the future of Europe and the possibilities for further economic integration in the face of the Covid-19 crisis. The German presidency of the EU Council in the second half of 2020 provided an important context to discuss these issues.

Funding: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik