Europe must stick together, Romano Prodi says
From Brexit to infighting over the European Union's top jobs, Italian politician Romano Prodi has a simple answer to the many problems facing Europe: just stick together, no matter what.
What concerns the former European Commission president more is the relationship between Brussels and Washington, which he says is in its worst state ever.
"We are still part of Nato, we are still friends of the US, but the total agreement that was [there] in the past is certainly not in this moment," he said, referring to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, which US President Donald Trump once threatened to quit.
"About Europe in general, Trump was very, very tough, let's say adamant in snubbing Europe," Prodi said. "There were so deep tensions with America " and Trump " that they never happened in the past, never since the end of the world. You never see such a conflict between America and Europe."
Prodi (left) pictured with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. Photo: AFP alt=Prodi (left) pictured with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. Photo: AFP
In an interview this week in his hometown of Bologna, Prodi offered Italy's own historical misjudgments " dating back to the Renaissance " as an example of why European unity is crucial at this stage.
"We had the first globalisation that was the discovery of America," he said, "but the states " Florence, Rome, Milan, Genoa " didn't stick together. None of them was big enough to build the new ships. And Italy disappeared from the world map for centuries.
"The same is [happening] now, [if] France, Italy will not stick together, [Europe] will disappear," he said. "The new ships " Google, Apple, Alibaba, Amazon " are the big networks that are connecting the world, and we are out. There is no European ship."
Prodi reserves his bluntest remarks for his home country, as it enters a politically unstable stage with a figurehead prime minister leading two deputies from two parties scrambling against each other for power: Matteo Salvini's hard-right Northern League and the populist Five Star Movement, led by Luigi di Maio.
"You don't know which is Italian policy now, because you have Salvini being linked to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and then going to link with Trump. You don't know which is the way out and which is the choice. [And then you have] Five Star siding with China.
"There is no clear Italian policy now. Sorry to be so blunt."
This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2019 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
Copyright (c) 2019. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
