Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said his anti-establishment Government wants to give Europe a “shake,’’ in comments ahead of an address to the European Parliament later on Tuesday.
Conte is the latest of several EU leaders to participate in a debate with EU lawmakers on the future of Europe.
But his speech, in the French city of Strasbourg, comes at a time when Italy that is a founding EU member has set itself aside from the European mainstream.
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The country’s ruling populist coalition, comprising the far-right League and anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S), has feuded with European partners on migration, budget discipline and other issues.
Meanwhile, Italy’s economy has slid into a recession the only one among the EU’s 28 member states raising fresh concern about the country’s chronic low-growth and high-debt problems.
Rome is not “isolated,’’ Conte told the Politico news website, arguing that the government has “not given up on expressing its opinions, even when what it had to say was uncomfortable.’’
Some people say we wanted to challenge the EU; I say we actually want to give it a shake to revive it,’’ Conte said, in an interview.
Being anti-establishment and pursuing change doesn’t mean being anti-EU. On the contrary, because we do care about Europe, we want it to become a Europe of the people, closer to the needs of the people,’’ he added.
His comments are expected to touch a nerve ahead of European Parliament elections in May at which populist, anti-establishment parties across the EU hope to emulate the electoral successes in Italy, a development being followed with concern from Brussels. (NAN)
