Premier Giorgia Meloni's statement on
Wednesday that the Manifesto of Ventotene did not represent the
Europe she envisions during a Lower House debate ahead of this
week's EU Council sparked a protest by opposition members that
led Speaker Lorenzo Fontana to temporarily interrupt the
session.
"I don't know if this is your Europe, but it's certainly not
mine", Meloni said of the 1941 manifesto which was circulated
within the Italian Resistance and soon became the programme of
the European Federalist Movement.
"I am not very clear on your idea of Europe", the premier went
on to say, mentioning a pro-EU demonstration held in Rome
Saturday at the initiative of journalist Michele Serra, and
saying that many participants as well as members of the
opposition in the House had mentioned the Manifesto: "I hope
they haven't read it, because the alternative would be scary",
she said.
The small island of Ventotene off the coast of Lazio housed a
Fascist prison during World War II, and two of the founding
fathers of the European Union were held there by the Mussolini
dictatorship.
This was where Altiero Spinelli and Ernesto Rossi came up with
the Ventotene Manifesto.
The Manifesto encouraged a federation of European states in a
bid to prevent future wars.
Members of the centre-left opposition protested, screaming and
standing up, forcing Fontana to interrupt the session for a
second time.
"The Manifesto of Ventotene is a hymn to federal Europe against
nationalisms that produced two wars and using it in this way is
unacceptable", said Democratic Left MP Federico Fornaro.
Protesters also included Marco Grimaldi of the Green-Left
Alliance (AVS) and Alfonso Colucci (Five-Star Movement, M5S) who
said: "Shame, there is no space for Fascism anymore".
Announcing that the House would resume its session in the
afternoon, Speaker Fontana urged lawmakers to "maintain
appropriate tones" while addressing the House, also to "honour
the memory of those who put their lives on the line to ensure
the principle of freedom of expression for everybody".
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