waves of sorrow and despair of thousands of migrants coming to our shores to seek help and protection, and sometimes coming to a tragic end.

Transcription

1 We are here tonight to mark the beginning of the Italian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. This Presidency takes place against the background of deep institutional change. And these are hard times for Europe. But retreat is not an option. Europe cannot miss a historic chance for change. A change of policies, not only of top jobs. With every passing day, the European Union is being associated with austerity policies and bureaucratic hurdles. With more than 25 million people unemployed in Europe, EU action - not only our Presidency s - must focus on creating more jobs, facilitating competitiveness and fostering growth. With every passing day, the European Union is being associated with an inability to face the 1

2 waves of sorrow and despair of thousands of migrants coming to our shores to seek help and protection, and sometimes coming to a tragic end. This year, exactly a century after the murder of Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, which led to the destruction of our continent, we have a huge opportunity to make a fresh start. The time is ripe to deeply reform the EU, to adapt its strategies to the needs and the soul of our peoples. You will always find high priests and prophets opposing substantial modifications to a consolidated strategy. To them, we may respond by recalling the words of Winston Churchill: However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results. And the results tell us that, as it stands, this European Union is not doing enough to address the main concerns of our citizens. Following the strong pressure exerted by PM Matteo Renzi, together with other Heads of State and Governments, the last European Council has started to address these concerns. 2

3 A large consensus was found on the main tools needed to restore growth and jobs, as well as the confidence of European citizens. We also subscribed to the last European Council Conclusions stating that: The UK raised some concerns related to the future development of the EU. These concerns will need to be addressed. We share with the UK the same approach on the policies which are needed to: Fully exploit the potential of the Single Market, in all its dimensions, including the products and services markets and the Digital Single Market; Reduce unnecessary administrative burdens and cut red tape for SMEs; Support open and fair trade and strategic partnerships; Make progress in the EMU, while respecting the integrity of the single market and preserving 3

4 transparency and openness towards non-euro EU countries; Promote climate and energy policy: i.e. affordable energy for companies and citizens, secure energy for our countries, green energy. To achieve these goals, the UK is an essential and indispensable partner. As stated yesterday by Prime Minister Matteo Renzi at the European Parliament: "A Europe without the United Kingdom would not simply be a less rich Europe, it would be less Europe, less itself", so let s work together to shape a better and smarter Europe, less intrusive and more efficient! Jean Monnet, one of the founding fathers of the European Union, used to say: "If I were to do it again from scratch, this time I would start from culture." I am not sure how historically accurate this story is, but it reminds us that European integration would have been smoother, had it 4

5 started from our common culture rather than from coal and steel. This is why, during this Semester, we will be organising several cultural events, in London and in other cities, and in particular a whole cycle of concerts. Culture is the sphere where a bond amongst all of us - Italians, British, Europeans - is more strongly felt. We want this concert to be a homage to that European culture which has crossed the borders and positively influenced our continent. For example, two philosophers living at the opposite ends of Europe, such as David Hume, in Scotland, and Giambattista Vico, in Naples, shared common intellectual views. And talking of Naples, in the same spirit, for tonight s event we have chosen the String Ensemble of the Naples Conservatorio San Pietro a Majella, led by Maestro Antonio Colica: a music Academy of great historical tradition, founded in the 16th century, and which ever since 5

6 has encouraged the study and the practice of music as a way for personal improvement and professional development. We consider San Pietro a Majella and its Youth String Ensemble to be a symbol of the new Europe we want to shape together. A Europe working in harmony, focused on improvement for the benefit of its citizens and not ashamed to promote our culture and our values all over the world. Tonight the Ensemble will present a very enjoyable saraband of pieces inspired by Naples, one of the most important music cities in Europe. I am sure you will recognise many tunes, interpreted by a soloist, Soprano Paola Tedesco, in the tradition of the Neapolitan song. The concert will be opened with a piece composed by a member of the Conservatorio, Maestro Vizioli, to honour tonight s event, a piece which combines tunes from the British, Italian and European Anthems. We want to make clear that we would never turn our backs to the music, but we will continue to build on our shared values. 6