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On May 14, the Center on the United States and Europe at Brookings, in partnership with the Council for the United States and Italy, will host Italian Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini for an address on Italy’s foreign policy during a period of geopolitical turmoil. In her remarks, Mogherini will offer perspectives on recent developments on the frontiers of Europe and explore how Italy and the U.S. can work together, along with the European Union and NATO, to address the ongoing challenges in Ukraine, the Mediterranean and beyond.

Federica Mogherini has been minister for foreign affairs since February 2014. She was previously a member of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committees of the Chamber of Deputies and chair of the Italian Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of NATO. She has been active in promoting nuclear disarmament in the Italian parliament, including a successfully adopted resolution supporting the nuclear disarmament visions and plans of President Obama and U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

Brookings Acting Deputy Director for Foreign Policy Steven Pifer will introduce Minister Mogherini. Michael Calingaert of Brookings and the Council for the U.S. and Italy will moderate a question and answer session at the conclusion of the minister’s remarks.

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On December 7, the Brookings Center on the U.S. and Europe (CUSE), the Council for the U.S. and Italy and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce hosted Emma Marcegaglia, the Chairperson of Confindustria, for an address on the transatlantic economy in the post-crisis environment, with a focus on the Italian private sector. In her remarks, Ms. Marcegaglia discussed the role of technology and innovation in maintaining economic growth and development and overcoming economic challenges.

Ms. Marcegaglia has been Chairperson of Confindustria since May 2008. Founded in 1910, Confindustria is the principal Italian business confederation, representing over 140,000 manufacturing and services companies of all sizes and over 5 million employees.  Ms. Marcegaglia is the first woman ever to serve in that position, and she has been forthright and effective in advocating for Italy’s economic and political reform.  In addition to her role as head of Confindustria, she is the Managing Director of Marcegaglia S.p.A., a world leader in steel processing, President of Mita Resort and President of the Areté Onlus Foundation.

Michael Calingaert of the Council for the United States and Italy and Brookings introduced Ms. Macegaglia. Following her remarks, Peter Rashish of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce provided comments. After the program, Michael Calingaert moderated a question and answer session with the audience.

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• Event Summary (.pdf)

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• 1207_italy_economy_speech

      

 

 

INTRODUCTION

Italy is one of the great success stories of the post–World War II era. Indeed, a massive transformation of the country’s economy and society has taken place over the past 60 years. By the end of the twentieth century, a nation that in 1958 was the least developed of the six founding members of the European Community had achieved an economic miracle based on a distinctive brand of entrepreneurial development. It had become one of the world’s leading industrial countries. Its reputation for fashion, food, and flair was second to none. It is today a member of the elite Group of Eight industrialized nations.

Yet, even as the outside world’s image of Italy has improved over the years, a number of fundamental problems have remained persistent features of the national landscape. Italians have always been inclined to self-criticism and self-doubt. But increasingly outsiders, too, have experienced exasperation at the country’s shortcomings, real and imagined. The fall of Romano Prodi’s 20-month-old government in January, after the prime minister lost a vote of confidence in the Senate, was only the latest example of political dysfunction. Today, Italy faces a range of acute and pressing challenges. Many Italians fear that these pose a threat to their country’s prosperity and wellbeing. The citizens also question their political leadership’s capacity to address the challenges, which stem largely from ongoing political, economic, and demographic trends.

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Michael Calingaert is also Executive Vice President of the Council for the United States and Italy. This article was one of three in a series titled "Who's the Comeback Kid? France, Germany, and Italy are struggling to recover. Who'll come out on top?" which appeared in the Fall 2003 edition of The International Economy magazine.

"Eppur si muove" ("and yet it moves") mumbled Galileo under his breath when forced to recant his heretical notion that the Earth moves around the sun. Similarly heretical—though less dangerous—is the notion that there is movement in the Italian economy, indeed, that in many respects it has achieved considerable success.

There are, of course, ample grounds for criticizing Italy's past economic policy and performance. After engaging in a painful effort during the early and mid-1990s, Italy confounded the skeptics by meeting the criteria enabling it to join the European Union's single currency area at its inception in 1999. Since then, however, Italy has slipped to the back of the pack, moving from low GDP growth into recession and showing seemingly little progress in addressing, let alone resolving, a number of fundamental economic problems.

The complete article is available here. (PDF—502kb)

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