Just sworn in as head of a coalition government formed by the 5-star Movement claiming to be anti-system and the pro-European centre-left of the Partito Democratico, Italian Council President Giuseppe Conte proposed a kind of "pragmatic compromise" to Europe on Wednesday 11 September in Brussels, which would move on from the previous anti-European position of the first "Conte" government led by the far right.
"I would like to establish a pact with Europe. What lies before us is a set of reforms that will not succeed in just a few months. We need some time. Let us make these investments and make this project a reality", said Mr Conte, who, for his first trip abroad, met with President-elect Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels, as well as the Presidents of the European Council, Donald Tusk, and the European Parliament, David Sassoli.
The Italian Prime Minister stressed that Italy was not asking for a derogation that would increase public debt of nearly €2300 billion, already the highest of all euro area countries. "We want to maintain sound public finances and reduce debt, but we want to do so by stimulating economic growth", he said.
Mr Conte referred to the specific situation of the Mezzogiorno, which includes the regions of southern Italy that are chronically lagging behind in their development despite the contribution of national equalisation funds and European structural funds.
It is necessary to take into account the existence of socio-economically disadvantaged geographical areas and to set up "a regime [which would be], I would like to say preferential, but I would not want to be misunderstood, for the Mezzogiorno". As such, it would be necessary to create "a protective device, an extraordinary response plan", he added.
The appointment as Italian Minister of Economy of Roberto Gualtieri, former Chairman of the European Parliament's Committee on Economic Affairs, and the dispatching to Brussels of former Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, are part of this shift by the Italian authorities to regain a prominent place in the direction of the European project.
But Northern European countries do not necessarily welcome such a move, which would potentially aim to make current European budgetary rules more flexible. This is what the social democratic family wants by demanding that public spending to facilitate the energy transition be exempt.
Migration. Mr Conte also raised European migration policy, another significant subject of dispute with the Italian authorities.
On this issue, the political leader referred to the "readiness" at the European level to work on the development of a temporary mechanism for the distribution of migrants rescued at sea. Wishing to end emergency situations on a case-by-case basis, he reiterated that Italy would like such a mechanism to facilitate the distribution of migrants, without specifying whether it would relate to all rescued migrants or just asylum seekers.
Aware that there will be countries reluctant to participate, Mr Conte nevertheless warned: "Whoever does not participate will feel it financially to a great extent". A reference, perhaps, to the establishment of a link between support for the EU budget and solidarity in managing the migration challenge. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)