During a meeting with members of the Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI), the Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti illustrated the prospects for the European Union after last week's summit in Brussels. The Premier focused in particular on the progress towards the banking union, emphasizing that the budgetary rules are not enough: "Structural reforms are needed: the proper functioning of the economic and banking union requires actions for growth and employment".
Upon his arrival, Monti was welcomed by the President of the IAI, Stefano Silvestri, by the president of the committee of guarantors, Cesare Merlini, and by the director Ettore Greco. An audience of Institute members, ambassadors and journalists was present.
In the debate following Silvestri's introduction, Monti addressed the problems relating to the coldness of German public opinion towards integration. The prime minister then underlined "Italy's harmony with Germany on the transfer of sovereignty, with France on growth instruments and with Great Britain on the single market". On the subject of security and defence, he reiterated that "the imperative of budgetary discipline increases the need for integration".
With regard to transatlantic relations and relations with the American president Barack Obama, Monti noted that since his inauguration in November 2011, "the attention of the United States for Italy has reached the maximum since the Cold War".
And, regarding the almost total absence of Europe among the issues addressed by the candidates in the presidential elections during the televised debates, he specified: “There is no lack of attention towards the Union. There is, rather, selective attention, which tends to be problem oriented. Even the Republican candidate Mitt Romney, in a phone call dating back to last August, showed interest in European issues".
