Europe, NATO and the Mediterranean: What Mattarella’s “strategic” speech reveals

Our “strategic options” for the President of the Republic, Sergio MattarellaI am “Europe, the western choice, our alliancesThe Head of State, in the traditional Quirinale year-end address, reaffirms the lines of Italian foreign policy in a global scenario and, as specified in the video message,Quite unprecedented“.

choices Pro-European and Atlantic Which also represents the end result of the government he leads Georgia Meloni Which demonstrates, once again, Quirinale’s clear awareness of the place Italy is pursuing in the international arena. Belonging to the European Union and his conscious participation in it, as in the case of the Atlantic Alliance, are the elements that have always characterized Mattarella’s mandate, and which are emphasized today at a stage in which Europe appears fragile and lacks leadership, which in his view is a historic stage. The challenge is like the war in Ukraine, the energy crisis and, consequently, the economic crisis.

Specifically about the ongoing conflict, Mattarella kept specifying it.crazyHe went on to explain it.The response of Italy, Europe and the West was full support for the attacking country and for the Ukrainian people, who bravely defend their freedoms and rights.A way to remember how strongly Italy adheres to its obligations deriving from the Atlantic Charter which Mattarella has always guaranteed, but also to reiterate how the Quirinale line is the clear commitment to the foreign policy choices of NATO and the EU in support Kyiv And in the condemnation of Moscow. On this point, the head of state himself was also keen to dwell on a very clear concept about the progress of the war: “If the attack succeeded, the others would follow along with the others warsWith unexpected limitsA non-minor sentence, which expresses in crystalline and concise fashion the idea of ​​how Italian and Western commitment to the war should be rejected.

The President of the Republic also charted another priority path on the Italian foreign agenda, which is the Mediterranean path, targeting not only the country’s southern front, but also NATO and the European Union itself. Mattarella spoke aboutPrimary responsibility in the area we define as the expanded Mediterraneanand reaffirmed itOur special relationship withAfrica“.

Particularly important messages which are also fully shared with the government and which confirm that the Rome vision aims for a region that does not only look at North Africa, but describes the concept of Mediterranean swell, also turns into the Sahel, the Horn of Africa, the Red Sea, the Middle East and even the Black Sea and indeed Europe. A region where Italy operates with diplomacy, its armed forces and its businesses, a strategic area but also eminently private, unequivocally linked to the country’s security, political, economic and energy interests. The reference to the enlarged Mediterranean indicates the complete continuity of the tradition of Italian diplomacy in a quarter where global challenges and national interests are intertwined as well as the game of great powers, from Russia to the United States, from China to various European countries. Even Turkey and the Arab petromonal regimes.

Passing on the Privileged Relationship with Africa is also essential, not only to ratify the commitment shared with Palazzo Chigi on the role Rome can play in the continent south of Europe, but also to reaffirm its centrality. With Mattarella’s own diplomacy. The President of the Republic has also recently made corporate trips fromNorth Africa till then south of the desertThese commitments have also served in light of the new energy policy which is also based on Africa to diversify the sources of hydrocarbons by separating from Russia. However, the African continent is not only energy, raw materials, large markets and countries that want to grow, but also migration routes, illegal trade, poverty, climate crises, wars and Islamic terrorism. Faced with this mixture of opportunities and risks, Italy is trying, between military and diplomatic missions and investments, to curb the contagion of chaos by actively engaging in supporting stability, which is beneficial both to the continent and to itself.