PRESS RELEASE
Brussels, 15 March 2017
Commenting on today’s debate in the European Parliament with Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni on March EU summit and Rome declaration, European Green Party Co-Chair Monica Frassoni said:
“Greens will be in Rome next week to reaffirm our intention to defend the European project against the misguided calls of new nationalisms and extremisms. Against current negative rhetoric, for us 25 March must mark a new start of the process of bringing the European Union to enlarge the scope of rights and freedoms of citizens and to drive Green transformation of our economies.
“Italian Prime Minister Gentiloni's intervention made even clearer that initiatives that will come from the level of Heads of State and Government will not be groundbreaking, as member states are divided on the way forward.
“As Gentiloni himself underlined, the Parliament’s role will be key: we believe that it is time for the EP to retake the initiative on the Future of Europe and lead the debate with national parliaments and civil society at large, while at the same time indicating its own priorities. If the Commission cannot lead and the Member States are divided, the European Parliament is all the more important to be the place where the debate on our common future in this EU should start and develop."
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Eliana Capretti
Head of Communications and Press
