Giuseppe Conte advocated, on Tuesday 12 February in Strasbourg, in front of the Chamber which was quite critical of the government's policy, a "Europe of the people more united, more equitable and more democratic".
The Italian President of the Council, Giuseppe Conte, said that the European project seemed to have lost its driving force, while recognising that states cannot respond alone to global challenges.
In his speech on the future of the EU, Mr Conte called for a relaunch of the European project to restore its credibility and cohesion.
He criticised the purely economic scope of European governance. The obligation to reduce sovereign debt has had negative social consequences, he said in substance.
"This is a great opportunity to make up for lost time", said the Italian head of government. He called for collective solidarity on immigration and for a structural and multi-level approach. He asked the EU to look beyond the Mediterranean, especially in Africa, and called for "automatic and mandatory solidarity" in the EU in the reception of refugees.
With regard to the European budget for 2021-2027, Mr Conte called for a balance between new and traditional policies, such as the CAP and cohesion, which must continue to receive full support. He called for a European unemployment insurance and a strengthening of the European Parliament's powers.
Antonio Tajani, President of the European Parliament, recalled that Italy was one of the founding countries of Europe and recalled that Parliament was committed to certain important issues (increase in the EU budget, increase in investment in Africa, reform of European asylum law).
On behalf of the European Commission, Vice-President Jyrki Katainen said that Europe needs a strong Italy. The former Prime Minister of Finland appreciated that Europe was also dependent on Italy. The EU has supported Italy since the beginning of the migration crisis, €950 million has been provided to manage migration flows.
Economic growth requires confidence and the Commissioner called on Italy to "unleash the creativity" of its economy.
In addition, Jean-Claude Juncker accepted Mr Conte's invitation to visit Italy in April, according to a Commission spokesman.
Manfred Weber (EPP, Germany) was rather critical of Italy's weak growth, the country's position on Venezuela or the lack of willingness within the government to implement the necessary reforms.
Udo Bullmann (S&D, Germany) expressed concern about the "anti-European path taken by the Italian government" and lamented great Europeans such as Altiero Spinelli and Alcide de Gasperi. He referred to an "irresponsible populist government" and criticised the senseless conflict with France or the tensions with the European Commission over the Italian budget, which have cost the Italian people €1.7 billion.
"It hurts when I see Italy's political decline,” said Guy Verhofstadt (ALDE, Belgium). He regretted a government that was openly rude or hateful towards certain Member States. He criticised the Italian government's position on Venezuela or on the Dublin reform. “That is absurd behaviour”, he said. He also mentioned the risk of recession in the country and criticised Italian support for the ‘yellow vest’ movement in France. He asked Giuseppe Conte to stop being "the puppet of Matteo Salvini and Luigi Di Maio".
Philippe Lamberts (Greens/EFA, Belgium) stressed to the press that the Italian government's line was set not by the Five Star Movement, but by the Italian Lega, “which believes that the future of the Italian economy is to cement the country” (holes in the mountains and the sea), therefore "everything but the transition to green and sustainable”. He also criticised the fact that Italy keeps migration at the forefront for electoral reasons. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)