The leaders of Italy and France sign the Quirinal Treaty in Rome, with which they undertake to reinforce Europeanism and reject the return to the austerity plans
Rome and Paris have never been so close. Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and French President Emmanuel Macron signed the Quirinal Treaty this Friday in Rome, an eleven-point document with which they pledge to reinforce their Europeanism, reject a possible return to austerity policies in Brussels and promote the EU common defense project. The host, Draghi, considered that it was a “historic moment” in the relations between the two countries, bringing together “diplomatic, commercial, political and cultural” positions after a few years in which the dialogue was much more tense.
In Giuseppe Conte’s first government (2018-2019), Matteo Salvini, leader of the League, one of the coalition parties, criticized Macron, while the 5-Star Movement, the other government partner, openly supported the protests by the ‘yellow vests’ against the French president, which generated enormous anger in the Paris Executive, which even called its ambassador in the Italian capital for consultations.
The axis between Rome and Paris that consolidates the Quirinal Treaty comes at a delicate moment in the European Union due to the departure of its leader for the last 16 years, German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The new German coalition government, led by the social democrat Olaf Scholz, has yet to reaffirm its position in the country and on the continent so, in the meantime, Draghi and Macron present themselves as the current pillars of the EU. The latter, in addition, can sell the agreement with Italy as an international endorsement at the gates of the start of the presidential election campaign, called in April and in which Macron aspires to re-election.
The Quirinal Treaty also provides that France and Italy tune their positions before the European Councils and that, every three months, a French minister participates in an Italian Council of Ministers and vice versa.
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