Federica’s diary
Cooperation is the key word for the European Union
Scrivo al termine di una settimana trascorsa tra l’Etiopia, Bruxelles e Monaco, una settimana di lavoro sull’Africa e con l’Africa, e sulla nostra sicurezza comune
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The international contact group for Venezuela
I write from Ethiopia, where I will take part in the African Union’s Summit, before travelling to other parts of the Horn of Africa. I will write about this in the next days. I came here straight from Montevideo, where I co-chaired with Uruguay the first meeting of the contact group that we have created to help find a solution to the crisis
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Europe’s engagement for Venezuela
I write after a week marked mostly by the crisis in Venezuela. We discussed it at length with the European Union’s Foreign Ministers in our informal meeting in Bucharest, during the Romanian Presidency of the EU, which followed the informal meeting of Defence Ministers
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Strong partnerships for difficult times
I write at the end of a week when the European Union has been at the core of a strong and wide network of global partnerships. In one day only, we welcomed about one hundred ministerial delegations to Brussels, from South-East Asia and Africa: in a difficult moment for the world, the European Union has become a point of reference for the whole world, like never before
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At work for the Mediterranean, with our North African partners
I write at the end of a week spent working mostly on North Africa and the Mediterranean
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Some good news to begin 2019
The year has started with some good news: on Friday, Skopje’s Parliament voted – with a large majority – to modify the Constitution and change the country’s name to “Republic of North Macedonia,” as agreed last summer with Greece. It is the demonstration that, with courage and determination, even the longest conflicts can come to an end. And it is a decisive step forward for North Macedonia on the path towards the European Union
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Twelve things to bring with us in 2019
First day of the year, and as usual I have decided to look back at the best moments of the last twelve months. 2018 ended on a sad note: a few days ago the world lost Amos Oz – an Israeli writer who never stopped believing in the possibility of peace and of the two-state solution. Oz once wrote: “There is no need to establish whose fault it was, whose blindness it was that caused the tragedy. What we need is to find a way out of the mire.”
I would like to keep this lesson in mind as the new year begins. Against all the difficulties in our world and our times, we can try to build little big solutions, together with those who have the will and the possibility to do so. We know that great changes can start with small steps forward
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At work on the Balkans, Ukraine and the Middle East
I write at the end of a week spent in Brussels – at work mostly on the Balkans, Ukraine and the Middle East
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Strasbourg
I write at the end of a week marked by the terrorist attack in Strasbourg – a city that for centuries was at the centre stage of European wars, and for seventy years has been a symbol of peace, thanks to the European Union. One of the victims is Antonio Megalizzi, a young man who felt both Italian and European. The best way to honour his memory is to believe and to invest in our Union, with Antonio’s same enthusiasm and passion
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Europe and the United States, natural partners beyond disagreements
I write after a week spent in Boston, Brussels and Milan. First, at Harvard University for a day of discussions with students and professor on relations between the United States and Europe: in spite of the current disagreements on specific issues, we remain natural partners
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