Europe’s false alibi in the G2. EuropEos Commentary No. 9, 13 May 2011

In the wake of Osama Bin Ladin’s death and against the background of a more confident United States and a more anxious China, Marta Dassù explores in this EuropEos Commentary the prospect that these two leading countries could form a ‘G2’, further marginalising Europe

The Berlusconi government and the debate on the future of the European Union

This brief commentary would like to address the silent revolution currently taking place in Italy: for the first time in decades, this founder member is reassessing its role in Europe. Throughout most of their recent history, Italians across the political spectrum had regarded Europe as a sort of moral imperative, as an alternative and indeed superior identity in a country with a traditionally weak national identity of its own. In recent months and years, however, this has begun to change, and it is no longer politically incorrect to raise questions which would have seemed almost unthinkable a decade or so ago. The long-standing official Europeanist rhetoric is being questioned, if not abandoned altogether, and it is now perfectly legitimate for Italians in positions of authority to ask themselves: where do our national interests lie in Europe? As Italians, what type of Europe should we favour?

Institutional solutions for problem solving

This contribution was delivered on the occasion of the EUI State of the Union in Florence on 09 May 2013Together with Chatham House Rule this paralel session was coordinated and organised by EUI professors, with speakers, journalists, academics and EUI researchers leading discussionEconomic governance of the euro and its relation to traditional forms of EU governance: how might they be incorporated? Can we have more than a ‘one-speed’ Europe? Is there a ‘political Europe’ outside the treaties? What are the legal and political aspects of the exit options within the EU and euro area?Transcripts of the recorded single speeches are available in the publication ‘The State of the Union 2013 : collected perspectives’, 201