Italian and German Perspectives
Joint conference by the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), the Italian Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI), and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation.
The European Union is facing multiple crises in 2017, engulfed in uncertainties over terrorism, borders, migration, and economics. The Brexit vote and the election of President Trump have shaken political elites. Although populist candidates failed to win the elections in the Netherlands and France, populism and anti-EU parties are on the rise in nearly all European states, including Italy. The EU currently seems unable to move either forward or backward – at least not in unison. Against this background, we would like to discuss Italian and German perspectives on Europe’s most pressing problems: How do these two countries deal with the populist challenge? Could “differentiated integration” remedy EU integration fatigue? How could Italy and Germany develop a new and more effective EU migration policy? And how could the two countries cooperate more closely in order to contribute to more security, prosperity, and freedom in the EU’s Southern neighborhood?
