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Antonio Tajani

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Antonio Tajani in 2018

Antonio Tajani (born 4 August 1953) is an Italian politician who has been serving as Deputy Prime Minister of Italy and Minister of Foreign Affairs since 22 October 2022. He served as President of the European Parliament from 2017 to 2019, as European Commissioner from 2008 to 2014, and also as a member of the European Parliament from 1994 to 2008 and again from 2014 to 2022 until he was elected to Italy's Chamber of Deputies. Following the death of Silvio Berlusconi, Tajani was appointed secretary of Forza Italia, becoming the party's new leader on 15 July 2023.

Quotes

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  • I would lile to have a sort of European FBI.
  • European consciousness is formed and passed on first and foremost in the classroom, and it is no coincidence that our young people are the most ardent supporters of Europe. I myself grew up surrounded by the example and reverence for the roots of European tradition, particularly thanks to my mother, who was a teacher of Greek and Latin. Europe is first and foremost a vision of life and of humanity. It is much more than a market or a currency [...] our civilisation has been forged through centuries of exchange, the blending of thought, the dialectic of ideas, art and science.
  • We are fighting to ensure that the right to asylum is governed by the same rules across Europe. Every state must have the same list of high-risk countries, which is not the case today. Because some countries have one list, others another.
  • A country where the opposition is imprisoned is not a democratic country. I am not afraid to say it, just as the Venezuelan students who are demonstrating are not afraid.
  • Mussolini? Until he declared war on the whole world following Hitler, until he became the architect of the racial laws, apart from the tragic affair of Matteotti, he did positive things to build infrastructure in our country, and then the land reclamation projects. From the point of view of concrete achievements, one cannot say that he achieved nothing.
  • [Regarding the Supreme Court judge who delivered the guilty verdict against Berlusconi] The words spoken by Dr Franco make it clear that there has been a veritable judicial coup against Berlusconi and against democracy in our country. Someone at the top steered the verdict and we would like to know who [...] by striking that man, it was not only the individual and his family who were struck, but all those who had freely chosen to vote for him.
This affair confirms that we were right when we called for judicial reform and the separation of careers [...] the principle of equal law for all did not apply to Berlusconi; the law was different for him than for others. [...] What we are doing, we are doing so that no one else has to go through what Berlusconi has gone through. [...]
Democracy in our country has been wounded: we now call for the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry into what happened to Berlusconi, but also into the entire malfunctioning of the criminal justice system, starting with Togliatti when he appointed judges who came from the Italian Communist Party rather than the State.
  • 90 years ago, Ukraine was ravaged by a terrible famine caused by Stalin and the USSR [the Holodomor]. Italy remembers the millions who died, victims of genocide. Today, with the war, the spectre of those days returns. We will not abandon the Ukrainian people.
  • We need more Europe in the Western Balkans; this is Italy’s new strategy. Stability is crucial for maintaining peace but also for combating illegal immigration. As NATO, we must protect all the countries of the Western Balkans and Ukraine’s neighbours: it is now important to work together because unity is the most important thing and sends a clear message to Russia that we are ready to protect these countries.
  • Human rights must always be respected, everywhere in the world, even in China.
  • For the Italian government [led by Giorgia Meloni], there are two guiding principles when it comes to foreign policy: transatlantic relations and Europe. We are a founding member; we want to play a leading role in building a path that unites all peoples to tackle major geopolitical challenges together.
  • Having a common defence does not mean turning Europe into some sort of warmongering entity: it means having a Europe that plays a leading role in politics, a bearer of peace.
  • We are in favour of Ukraine’s accession [to the European Union]... but we are also in favour of the accession of the Western Balkan countries that are candidates... otherwise we risk leaving peoples who nevertheless share a vision and tradition common to our own under the influence of other entities that do not share the same common ground.
  • I insist on the need for a more democratic Europe [with] greater powers for the European Parliament... I say this not merely because

I was President of the European Parliament, but because I am absolutely convinced that in this way the peoples will feel better represented within the EU institutions.

  • [The issue of migration must be addressed] not through the lens of the colonisers, but through the lens of the Africans.
  • (About the release of Patrick Zaki) There is no bartering, there are no backroom deals. The government has managed to bring back to Italy a young researcher who risked spending a little more time in prison. We have managed to achieve this result, and I believe it is no small achievement. People can say whatever they like, but there is no bartering. We are serious people; we do not engage in such deals. (20 July 2023).
  • It was a grave mistake to have killed Gaddafi. He may not have been a champion of democracy, but once he was gone, instability spread throughout North Africa.
  • [About the 2024 Russian presidential elections] [...] these elections were characterised by intense and even violent pressure. Navalny was effectively excluded from the elections through murder [...] There were no candidates opposing Putin. We saw footage of Russian soldiers entering polling stations to see how people were voting. So it does not strike me as an election that meets the standards we uphold. (18 March 2024).
  • Being Italian, being European, and being a patriot is not tied to seven generations, but to who you are. We must look at reality for what it is. I emphasise education, identity and culture because if you accept that you are European, in essence you are Italian and European not because your skin is white, yellow, red or green, but because you hold those convictions within you, because you live by those values within you, because you have that European spirit within you. Whether your parents were born in Kiev, La Paz or Dakar makes absolutely no difference.
  • Le infrastrutture sono fondamentali per garantire la sicurezza, come peraltro anche la sanità, ad esempio un ospedale specializzato nelle cure agli attacchi batteriologico e chimico. Io credo che il Ponte rappresenti, quando ci sarà, punto importante nel trasporto.[...] Quindi anche per l’evacuazione, per garantire la sicurezza in caso di un attacco da sud. Perché esiste anche il fianco sud della Nato.
Infrastructure is essential for ensuring security, as is healthcare – for example, a hospital specialising in treating victims of biological and chemical attacks. I believe that the bridge, once completed, will be a key transport link.[...] It will also be vital for evacuation purposes, to ensure safety in the event of an attack from the south. After all, NATO also has a southern flank.
  • Oggi come sono stati i bombardamenti?.
  • [To the Italian ambassador to Iran] How was the bombing today?

Quotes about

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    • It is worth recalling here, Mr President, that the government in office at the time of the establishment of the ESM was the Monti government, which was also supported by the Polo delle Libertà, and that the negotiations in 2011 were supported and carried out by the Berlusconi Government, which was also supported by the Northern League. We can say that the current Prime Minister Template:NDR and Deputy Prime Ministers (Matteo Salvini and Antonio Tajani), along with their parties, actively contributed to the establishment of the ESM. You are the masters of the ESM.
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