Before flying to the United States, the Italian Prime Minister, Mario Draghi was in the European Parliament.
The war in Ukraine causes crises on several fronts and is therefore the cause of a necessary review of the role of the European Union. Draghi has no doubts about what is wrong in the EU e calls for a review of the Treaties: "the institutions are inadequate for the challenges we are experiencing, the founding treaties must undergo a revision to be faced with courage and confidence, the current crises, that of energy and raw materials, require a European financial effort such as that of Next Generation Eu: no national budget, especially those of the most fragile countries, can do it alone, no one can be left behind".
“The institutions our predecessors built have served European citizens well, but are inadequate for today's reality. The pandemic and the war have called the European institutions to responsibilities never assumed until now. We must move with the utmost speed and make sure that the crisis management we are experiencing allows for a transition to a fairer economic model. We need a pragmatic federalism, which embraces all areas affected by the transformations underway, from the economy, to energy, to security ”.
The ultimate goal, according to Draghi, is to create a federal-type political entity with a common debt. In reference to the ongoing war he said: "In a war of aggression there cannot be an equivalence between those who invade and those who resist, protecting the Ukrainians means protecting ourselves and the project of security and democracy built over the last 70 years".
On a new policy of DEFENSE e Safety common the Italian premier proposed to convene an EU conference on military spending and the project of a common army: "We spend three times as much as Russia, but we have 146 different defense systems, the United States has 34, it is a highly inefficient distribution, a Conference would have the primary task of rationalizing and optimizing investments ”.
Common defense must be complementary to a unitary foreign policy and targeted decision-making systems: "We need to overcome the principle of unanimity, which gives rise to an intergovernmental logic made up of crossed vetoes, and move towards decisions taken by a qualified majority. A Europe rapacious to decide in a timely manner is a more credible Europe vis-à-vis its citizens and vis-à-vis the world". "A strong Europe is also a strong NATO".
Robert Metsol, President of the Parliament, comments on Draghi's thinking: "After the illegal and unjustified invasion of Ukraine, Europe is facing another whatever it takes. We have witnessed unprecedented European coordination, solidarity and unity against this war ".
On the war, Draghi said that our priority is to reach a ceasefire as soon as possible. A truce would also give new impetus to the negotiations. Europe can and must play a central role in fostering dialogue. Italy, as a founding country of the EU, as a country that deeply believes in peace, is ready to commit itself on the front line to reach a diplomatic solution.
On the energy dossier Draghi spoke of a profound geopolitical reorientation destined to increasingly shift its axis towards the Mediterranean, in a context in which we have supported the sanctions that the Union has decided, including those in the energy sector. We will continue to do so with the same conviction. We will continue, Draghi points out, to insist on a common European gas price ceiling.