Prime Minister Draghi said that the rebirth of the EU, its transformation into a strong union and being a leader has become imperative. “The renewal of the EU is mandatory. the ‘pragmatic federalism’ that embraces all sectors should expand and establish its autonomous defence system!”

Vita gazette – Prime Minister Mario Draghi, expressing that the pandemic and the Ukrainian crisis reflect the inadequacy of the European Union (EU), called for a “new union structure”. The prime minister said that “pragmatic federalism”, which embraces all sectors “from the economy to energy and security”, must actually work. Noting that Europe should expand and create its own autonomous defence system, Draghi stressed the need to revise the treaties if necessary.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi gave a historic speech to the European Union Parliament on global strategies and their reflections on the EU and the need to restructure the EU. Mario Draghi, in his speech before the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, said: “The war in Ukraine places the European Union in front of one of the most serious crises in its history. A crisis that is both humanitarian, security, energy and economic. ” And then he affirmed that a vision of an innovative, protective and enlightening Europe is more necessary than ever “.

Hunger will increase!

In his speech, he stressed that the conflict in Ukraine has caused instability in the functioning of global supply chains and volatility in the price of raw materials and energy.

“Economically, Ukraine is the fourth-largest foreign supplier of food to the European Union – it sends us about half of our corn imports and a quarter of our vegetable oils. Russia and Ukraine account for over a quarter of global grain exports. Almost 50 countries in the world depend on them for more than 30% of their imports. In March, the prices of cereals and major foodstuffs reached all-time highs. There is a strong risk that the increase in prices, together with the reduced availability of fertilizers, will produce food crises. According to FAO, 13 million more people could go hungry between 2022 and 2026 due to the war in Ukraine. Many countries, especially in Africa and the Middle East, are more vulnerable to these risks and could experience periods of political and social instability. We cannot allow this to happen. Our commitment, through development banks and multilateral financial institutions, must be maximum “.

The energy situation is very bad!

Stating that the situation is not good from an energy point of view, Draghi said: “The price of crude, which fluctuated between 70 and 90 dollars a barrel between December and January, is now around 105 dollars after the peak of 130. March dollars. The price of gas on the European market is around 100 euros per megawatt-hour – about five times that of a year ago – After the increases observed even before the start of the conflict, these increases have pushed the inflation rate to levels that did not occur. they had seen for decades.”

We need pragmatic federalism

Underlining that today Europe is facing serious problems due to war and pandemics, Draghi listed the steps to be taken as follows:

“The institutions that our predecessors have built over the past decades have served European citizens well, but are inadequate for the reality we face today. The pandemic and the war have called the European institutions to responsibilities never assumed until now. The geopolitical framework is in rapid and profound transformation. We must move with the utmost speed. And we must make sure that the management of the crises we live in does not bring us to the starting point, but allows a transition toward a fairer and more sustainable economic and social model. We need pragmatic federalism, which embraces all areas affected by the transformations underway – from the economy to energy, to security. If this requires the beginning of a path that will lead to the revision of the Treaties, it should be embraced with courage and trust “.

We need to build strategic autonomy in defence

Emphasizing that for this, first of all, it is necessary to address the economic and social emergency in the geopolitical framework that has become dangerous and uncertain, Draghi continued as follows:

“In a geopolitical framework that has suddenly become much more dangerous and uncertain, we must face the economic and social emergency and guarantee the safety of our citizens. Defence investments must be made with a view to improving our collective capabilities – as the European Union and as NATO. The last European Council took an important decision with the approval of the ‘Strategic Compass’, which we must implement quickly. However, we need to move quickly beyond these first steps and build effective coordination between defence systems. Our security spending is about three times that of Russia, but it is divided into 146 defence systems. The United States has only 34. It is a profoundly inefficient distribution of resources, which hinders the construction of a true European defence. Strategic autonomy in defence passes first of all through greater efficiency of military spending in Europe. A conference should be convened to rationalize and optimize investments.

European Union should enlargement

“A first acceleration must concern the enlargement process”, says Draghi. “The full integration of the countries that manifest European aspirations does not represent a threat to the stability of the European project. It is part of its realization. Italy supports the immediate opening of accession negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia, in line with the decision taken by the European Council in March 2020. We want to give new impetus to the negotiations with Serbia and Montenegro, and ensure the maximum attention to the legitimate expectations of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo. We are in favour of the entry of all these countries and we want Ukraine to join the European Union. We must follow the entrance path that we have drawn, but we must also proceed as quickly as possible “.

We must abandon the principle of unanimity

Noting that the construction of a common defence must go hand in hand with a unitary foreign policy and effective decision-making mechanisms, Draghi said: “Furthermore, the construction of a common defence must go hand in hand with a unitary foreign policy, and effective decision-making mechanisms. We must overcome the principle of unanimity, which gives rise to an intergovernmental logic made up of crossed vetoes and move toward decisions taken by a qualified majority. A Europe capable of making decisions in a timely manner is a Europe that is more credible in front of its citizens and in the face of the world”.

We must be leaders

Noting that the current situation forces the EU to decisively speed up the integration process, Draghi said: “In the coming months we must show the European citizens that we are capable of leading a Europe that lives up to its values, its history, its role in the world. A stronger, more cohesive, sovereign Europe – capable of taking the future into its own hands”.