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360 million European citizens are preparing to vote. From June 6 to 9, in fact, voters in the 27 EU states will go to the polls to renew the Parliament of the Old Continent. Compared to five years ago, both the number of eligible voters – since in the last round the inhabitants of the United Kingdom, who then officially left Europe on January 31, 2020, also voted – and the geopolitical context have changed. Will weigh heavily on the decisions of the citizens of the Old Continent the aftermath of the pandemic, the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, energy and climate crises, irregular entries into Europe and the problem of uncontrollable migration flows (according to the Frontex report, in the first two months of 2024, 31.200 people arrived illegally within European borders; the most traveled route has become the western one, with 12,100 migrants leaving the shores of Mauritania to land on the shores of the Canary Islands), the green deal to be revised or reformed, and the loss of competitiveness of European companies compared to the United States and China. At stake is not only the political composition of the hemicycles in Strasbourg and Brussels, but the future of Europe, with its priorities to be addressed and new issues to be placed at the center of the Commissions’ political agenda.
The wait is coming to an end, as is the election campaign. The eyes of political analysts are resting especially on a few countries that will play a key role in determining the new continental balance. Among them is certainly Italy. This coming June 8 and 9 – in the “Boot” voting will take place on Saturday, June 8 from 2 to 10 p.m. and on Sunday, June 9 from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. – 47 million eligible voters will be called upon to elect 76 representatives, 10.55 % of the 720 Euro-deputies.
Fratelli d’Italia emerges as the leading party. Compared to 2019 – when, as the fifth largest political force in the country, it managed to elect Co-Chair of the European Conservatives and Reformists Group Nicola Procaccini (elected in the Central Italy Constituency), FdI-ECR Head of Delegation Carlo Fidanza (Northwest Constituency), Sergio Antonio Berlato (Northeast Constituency), Pietro Fiocchi (Northwest Constituency), Chiara Maria Gemma (South Constituency), Giuseppe Milazzo (Islands Constituency), Denis Nesci (South Constituency), Vincenzo Sofo (South Constituency), and Raffaele Stancanelli (Islands Constituency) – has other numbers, another political and institutional weight, and over 580 days of good governance. The work done by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, both nationally and internationally, has restored credibility to the nation. That Italy, thanks to the directives, guidelines and policies of the Meloni government, counts much more in Europe is an established fact. Even the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, who was nominated as a “spitzenkandidaten” by the European People’s Party, reiterated during the debate among the candidates nominated to take office at the Berlaymont Palace that she had worked very well with the Italian Prime Minister. The wind has shifted, and Nicola Procaccini also pointed this out.
“Objectively,” said the Co-Chairman of the ECR Group and number two candidate of Fratelli d’Italia – right behind Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni – on the sidelines of the City of Rome Award, “in Europe people no longer look at Italy with prejudice, the same prejudice that had accompanied the birth of this government led by Premier Giorgia Meloni. Today, the situation is different, and this can also be seen in the manner and tone used by the most important European media to report on our country. If the most influential German newspaper admits that it underestimated the Italians, and if one of the most important British newspapers questions how Italy did what Great Britain could only dream of, without considering that every day there are attestations of this tenor to underline precisely the change of perspective, it means that Italy is finally seen in a strong, credible and solid position. The time has come when this standing must be consolidated. It is now or never.”
Italy, in short, is ready to take the stage and carve out a leading role for itself within the continental institutions.
“I believe that the balance point is destined to shift to the right,” added Procaccini. “I believe that we can already say that the European Commission, being an expression of governments and not of Parliament, will be center-right, as will the European Council. I also believe that the Conservatives, thanks to Fratelli d’Italia in particular, can be protagonists. There are objective elements. I think Italy, precisely through Fratelli d’Italia, can have a leading role in European institutions that perhaps it has never had so far. Until now, they always considered us as the tail end, they called us the “Sick Man of Europe,” but today we can count on a solid, stable government that is achieving important results. All this, in addition to fostering optimism, is also creating a positive effect around Europe and giving a significant morale boost to other conservative forces as well.”
For the European elections, the Italian PM’s political movement has drafted a manifesto in which the defence of the identity of the peoples and nations of the Old Continent is reclaimed. Fratelli d’Italia wants Europe to prove itself as a political giant capable of playing a leading role on the international stage and capable of facing the challenges of our time, such as foreign policy, defence, security of external borders, regulation of migration flows, the single market and energy. The proposed model is that of a confederal Europe that respects the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality sanctioned by the EU’s founding treaties and leaves national policies to the competence of individual governments. Fratelli d’Italia’s program for the Europeans lists the 15 focal points that will have to change Europe. From the working sector, with investment in businesses and training to create employment, to justice and the fight against crime, to the defence of farmers, food sovereignty and nature – but without eco-follies, to health and efficient health care at the service of the individual, to population growth as the key to the future, to the centrality of the economy and actions to counter unfair competition, to the protection of European borders (central will also be the development of the Mattei Plan for Africa) and Europe’s ability to guarantee peace and energy independence (Italy can and must be an energy hub for Europe). Also crucial are strategies for a more industrially competitive continent, as well as guidelines for the so-called economy of the sea, provisions aimed at guaranteeing equal opportunity and combating all forms of gender-based violence, and rules regarding artificial intelligence.
“Let’s just say that more than a few things need to be changed in Europe, because, in the end, the record of these last five years has been almost disastrous in many ways,” continued ECR Co-chair Procaccini. “In particular, I am reminded of this furious approach to the green transition, which has created all kinds of problems in terms of economy and production, but especially at the social level as well as in terms of environmental conservation. The idea is to renew many things, we should change the basics and defend the original idea of Europe, which is a confederation of free and sovereign nations and not the federalist super-state that the leftists would like to impose, stripping each country of its competencies and giving them to Brussels. This is a project that we strongly oppose, and I am convinced that Italian and European citizens will also oppose it. All this makes me even more confident about the elections that are now imminent.”
Fratelli d’Italia’s European campaign will close next June 1st, in Rome, with a speech by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. The backdrop for the final rally will be the central Piazza del Popolo, which for the occasion will be packed with supporters from every corner of the country. All united by the will to change Europe.