Premier Matteo Renzi on Wednesday accused the European Union of doing next to nothing to tackle the big challenges it faces.
"As (German philosopher) Jurgen Habermas said, the responses of the EU seem characterised by frenetic immobility," Renzi told the Lower House. "After the Berlin, Brussels and Ventotene summits, where we had imagined a significant programme of reforms for the Bratislava summit, we realised that the frenetic immobilism led to little more than nothing. A banal (concluding) document, the sum of many summaries, a list of good promises".
Renzi said that the March European summit in Rome will be a crux moment for the EU's future. "The 27 States will meet in the Eternal City and they will try to imagine the future," Renzi told the Lower House. "It's a dividing moment. It's extremely important, crucial, decisive".
Renzi said that Italy will take a hard line with EU countries that fail to do their bit to address the asylum-seeker crisis when it comes to discussing the next EU budget.
"The EU is about to discuss the next budget. In the next few months it will debate the division of the EU budget again," Renzi said. "It's fundamentally important that Italy promotes a very tough position with those countries that have received lots of money but are getting away from their commitments of migrant relocations".
Also on Wednesday, European Parliament Speaker Martin Schulz told ANSA in an interview that he understands Renzi for berating what he called the EU's being at a "frenetic standstill".
"I share Matteo's sensation of a sort of stagnation in Europe," he said. "He's right, there is no progress, and we need progress on all fronts. I understand the impatience of a highly pro-Europe premier who wants to take the EU forward. In general, I understand those who want to talk about concrete results".
Schulz said the positive thing to come out of a mid-September EU summit in Bratislava was that the EU-27 member nations at least recognized "the need to stick together".
"I noticed Matteo, who has a candid personality, was not happy," the EP speaker said. "I find it positive that Germany, France and Italy tried to discuss post-Brexit strategies, investment plans, migration, and the entire list of to-do things".
However he disagrees with Renzi that general elections to be held in both France and Germany in 2017 are hampering the EU. Asked whether he would ask French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel to think more about Europe and less about their voters at home, Schulz replied: "Hollande has made forward-thinking EU proposals in several speeches".
"The fact that the three countries are leading the EU together is an objective reached," he added. "I don't see any reluctance, but clearly the future of the EU will play a role in the vote in Germany and in France".
Italy needs budget flexibility to cope with the asylum seeker emergency and with reconstruction after a devastating August 24 quake in central Italy, he added.
Schulz said he "understood" the requests but "they must remain within the limits (set by) the Treaties". He said "Germans want the rules to be respected. Italy asks for solutions within the framework of the rules. It's a normal debate".
Italy is asking to be allowed to bump up its 2017 budget deficit from 2.0% to 2.4% to help pay for the two emergencies, but the European Commission and northern European budget hawks are reportedly demanding it settle for less.
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