All the news of the Italy-France treaty
Foreign policy, defense, immigration, space and more. Here are the main (concrete) guidelines of the Italy-France treaty signed on November 26
For Prime Minister Mario Draghi, his signature "marks a historic moment in bilateral relations". For the French president Emmanuel Macron, it will allow the birth of "a common geopolitical vision". The so-called Quirinale Treaty – or, formally, the Treaty between the Italian Republic and the French Republic for enhanced bilateral cooperation – signed in Rome on November 26 aims to increase the political-economic alignment between Italy and France, and it could recalibrate the balance of power within the European Union.
TWELVE ARTICLES
The agreement ( here the full text ) consists of twelve articles, and more a list of intentions than a collection of well-defined projects. The work program , on the other hand, is more specific.
FOREIGN POLICY
Through the treaty, Italy and France undertake to improve coordination between their respective actions at the international level, with the aim of defining coherent positions on decisions regarding common interests. To this end, they have decided to establish "mechanisms of enhanced consultation", with regular meetings between their respective officials, especially in the event of a crisis.
Rome and Paris will strengthen coordination on policies for the Mediterranean (defined as the "common environment") relating to security, economic development, integration, the fight against irregular migration, the promotion of human rights and energy. At the European level, they will work on defining common approaches towards "the southern and eastern neighborhood" (North Africa, Sahel, Horn of Africa, Middle East, Persian Gulf) and towards "main international partners and competitors" (China?) . They will also improve maritime security cooperation in some key quadrants: not only the Mediterranean, but also the Gulf of Guinea, the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Aden and the western Indian Ocean.
THE DEFENCE
On defense, the two sides say they are committed to promoting cooperation in exchanges of armed forces personnel and defense equipment and to developing "synergies" on an operational and capacity level. In addition to the work of NATO, they will periodically consult on the defense initiatives of the European Union with a view to creating a "common strategic culture" on the continent.
Italy and France, then, will promote "structural alliances" between their defense industries in the direction of greater cooperation, forming partnerships on specific military sectors such as space.
EUROPEAN AFFAIRS
Italy and France want to stimulate the birth of a feeling of European belonging, encouraging the mobility of people and working to encourage the establishment of transnational lists in the European elections. They will work to defend the Union's "fundamental values", such as human rights, democracy and the rule of law. And they will organize consultations between their respective government bodies on issues such as the "Fit for 55" package for climate action, digital, immigration, neighboring countries in Africa (first of all Libya), the peace process in the Middle East , sanctions.
MIGRATION POLICIES AND INTERNAL AFFAIRS
To strengthen cooperation on asylum and migration, Italy and France say they want to "contribute to the achievement of a balanced compromise that allows for more effective control of the external borders, a decrease in secondary movements and an effective mechanism of solidarity in the management of migratory flows, reserving specific treatment for arrivals linked to search and rescue operations at sea which also includes reallocation ". Furthermore, they will work for the reform of the common European asylum system and for the realization of a common return policy.
Strategic partnerships will be promoted with the countries of origin and transit of migrants, also evaluating the possibility of carrying out joint missions in these territories and setting up a European initiative on the Central Mediterranean route. It will also aim at the promotion, "through the use of appropriate national resources", of initiatives in these third countries for the management of flows and the strengthening of security.
Italy and France say they want to promote a "re-foundation" of the Schengen area, placing greater emphasis on strengthening the Union's external borders. The treaty stresses the need to tackle terrorist content online, hate speech and radicalization.
THE ECONOMY
On the economy, the two countries claim that they want to work on the "completion" of the economic, monetary and banking union by stimulating "the introduction of a permanent macroeconomic stabilization capacity of the eurozone" and working on a "European deposit guarantee system (EDIS) ".
INDUSTRY AND THE DIGITAL
Italy and France undertake to coordinate the investments, present in their respective recovery plans, in those sectors considered strategic for European autonomy: cloud, batteries for electric vehicles, healthcare materials, energy (hydrogen, above all), semiconductors, connectivity ( 5G and 6G). They also want to develop cooperation between their respective deposit and loan funds.
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
On sustainable development, consistently with the objectives defined by the European Commission in the Green Deal, Rome and Paris want to proceed with the strengthening of the market for the trading of carbon shares (the ETS) and with the establishment of a carbon adjustment mechanism at the external border (CBAM: a sort of duty on polluting goods from non-EU countries).
Furthermore, they want to make the Mediterranean Sea “clean and sustainable” also by promoting, both in European and international locations, the adaptation of fleets to transitional and less polluting maritime fuels. In addition to maritime transport, the two countries also want to stimulate the transition of land and air transport towards low-emission modes.
SPACE
Article 7 of the treaty is entirely dedicated to space, defined as "a key dimension of European strategic autonomy" over security, as well as to the "economic development" of the Union. Italy and France will therefore increase their collaboration in the field of space transport for the design / manufacture of satellites, with an eye to the offer of services in the Mediterranean and African regions. They will focus in particular on developing the Ariane and Vega programs on space launchers and rockets to make them more competitive.
EDUCATION
On education, in addition to encouraging the mobility of students and teachers, the two countries will equip each other with projects in strategic sectors to encourage the creation of Italian-French professional centers of excellence. The sectors considered most relevant are health, life sciences, oceanographic research, physics and chemistry, polar research, environment, heritage, innovation and digital technologies.
CROSS-BORDER COOPERATION
Italy and France say they want to strengthen cross-border connections, continuing with the completion of the Turin-Lyon railway and improving the governance of the Mont Blanc tunnel. The need for connections for the Roia valley, to restore the Cuneo-Breil-Ventimiglia line and to finish the Tenda tunnel is mentioned.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/trattato-italia-francia-cosa-prevede/ on Sat, 27 Nov 2021 07:04:23 +0000.