MANDURIA (Taranto) The need for a unified voice on Ukraine, but also to encourage an acceleration in the use of cohesion resources. And then the hope for a shared revision of the ETS system and the commitment to the enlargement path to be pursued as a strategic choice, not as charity.
The air of Brussels can be felt among the olive trees of the Masseria Li Reni, shaken by an unusual north wind. And not only because the common thread of the sixth summer edition of the Forum in Masseria, organized by Bruno Vespa and Comin & Partners, is Europe.
Less than twenty-four hours after Giorgia Meloni's communications to Parliament, her appeal for a special EU envoy for Kiev does not seem to have fallen on deaf ears: "The European Union must be one, have a coherent voice, in which everyone agrees to make progress," says Roberta Metsola without hesitation, connecting from Slovakia. The position of the President of the European Parliament — despite the shaky internet connection — is clear: "Everyone is saying we need to talk to Russia. Everyone is saying that nothing can be decided on Ukraine without Ukraine, but unfortunately we are seeing that either no one is talking to Putin or no one is defending Ukraine." That Meloni's call cannot remain unanswered seems to be reiterated by Raffaele Fitto. Who, even as EU Commissioner, always avoids opening up on national politics: "I fully agree, when dealing with Russia, a single European voice is needed and we must not proceed in a fragmented manner."
The other sore point when it comes to Kyiv concerns the issue of EU accession. A proposal put on the table by Chancellor Merz, amid the reservations and fears of several EU countries. Metsola, in an exercise of institutional balance, tries to hold all positions together. Convinced that it is time to take concrete steps towards the accession of the Balkans, starting with Montenegro, but hopeful for the start of the first group of negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova (a decision that will be formalized in the evening). The reason is simple: "Enlargement is not charity, but a strategic choice."
Her intervention in Vespa's Puglian salon is also an opportunity for an assumption of responsibility in light of the rise of the far right in Europe: "It is a concern I have," Metsola admits, convinced that the Europeanist front must be strengthened. "In recent years we have not spoken to citizens about defense, security, immigration, but also about how to pay bills."
Precisely on this last front, that of high energy costs triggered by the Hormuz crisis, which two weeks ago prompted him to send a letter to the 27 countries opening the use of cohesion resources, Fitto gets something off his chest: "No one wants to touch cohesion funds, we are offering this opportunity on a voluntary basis." The key word is "adjustment," according to the Commission's Executive Vice President, who mischievously notes that the controversy over resources taken from territories has only arisen in Italy: "We have a series of factors that are changing the world. We must adapt the existing resources to the new needs." And do so, he stresses, by accelerating.
The next hurdle to face in the near future will be the revision of the ETS system, the European emissions trading system, whose suspension the Prime Minister had requested: "On July 15, I hope there can be a shared revision," confides the former Minister for European Affairs and the PNRR. On the National Recovery and Resilience Plan itself, Fitto praises Italy: "It is among the countries that have managed it best." As for the extension of the escape clause for energy, and not just for defense, "it will allow us to address some of the emergencies that exist." A demonstration, Fitto explains, that the new structure of the European budget is much simpler and more flexible: "European resources for member states will flow into the National and Regional Partnership Plan, which will be a new tool and will allow for greater efficiency." On Ukraine and energy, the states have called, and this time the EU does not want to fail to respond.
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