Europe must stick together, Romano Prodi says
- If France, Italy fail to maintain unity, Europe will disappear, former European Commission president says
- Politician says there is ‘no clear policy’ in Rome
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.”
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.