Adnkronos Rome, March 18 (Adnkronos) – "More than a point of equilibrium, a balancing act... but that's okay". A big name in the minority Democratic Party, leaving the assembly of groups in the Chamber, thus summarizes the mediation reached, after a marathon discussion, on ReArm Eu in the resolution for communications by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Parliament.
Secretary Elly Schlein confirmed the Democratic Party's position on the request for a "radical revision" of the Von der Leyen plan. The resolution contains "specific criticisms" and also indicates "how to change proposals that do not go in the direction of building a true common European defense", the secretary herself argued in front of senators and deputies gathered in Montecitorio.
Even the minority can wave a result achieved: that of defining the White Paper as a "start of the discussion path for the construction of a common defense". It was precisely on the vote on the White Paper that the fracture in Europe in the Democratic delegation had occurred between the abstention of the majority and the yes of the reformist area. An abstention, the one wanted by Schlein, which had misaligned the Democratic Party with respect to the green light of the European socialist family that had defined the Von der Leyen plan, precisely, "a first step" towards common defense.
The mediation of the past hour has avoided a second fracture. A result sought, it is reported, by both the majority and the minority Democrats. "The tone at today's meeting was much softer than in the past few days", reports one of the participants. Moreover, Schlein herself, speaking at the meeting of the Democrat parliamentarians, shifted the attention from the Democratic Party to the "contradictions of the right" which has "three different positions" on ReArm. And on the criticisms of Meloni, anticipating the contents of the speech tomorrow in the Chamber in the presence of the Prime Minister: "I will take care to point out that the positions that Meloni has taken in these weeks go against the national interest", "she has sold herself as a bridge and instead is a silent accomplice of Trump's disintegration project".
On the issue of rearmament, the mediation reached passes through point 8 of the resolution. On the one hand, there is the request for a "radical revision" of the ReArm that goes "in the direction of favoring above all the rearmament of the 27 member states" because "it does not respond to the urgent need to build a true common defense" and "a path of common investments in security carried out not to the detriment of the social, cohesion and development priorities of the Union". On the other, the positive judgment on the White Paper on European defense. "We are satisfied because the part on the white paper contains our indications on the use of tools already available for investments in defense", says Alessandro Alfieri, coordinator of the minority.
Schlein thanks those who worked on the resolution: "We are the only ones to get to the heart of the issues. To say yes to common defense and how we must build that common defense. And to say no to the rearmament of the individual 27", to say "what are the specific criticisms and how we ask to change the proposals that do not go in the direction of building a true common defense".
The resolution indicates several possible changes. How to transform "the Safe financial instrument - the only instrument that presents an embryo of European solidarity, with 150 billion euros intended to strengthen some common strategic capabilities - from a provider of loans that weigh on the budgets of the States to a supplier of subsidies capable of ensuring the effectiveness of the objective". And also to condition "all the instruments envisaged to common defense projects together with several Member States in order to favor interoperability, coordination between defense systems and the strengthening of the common industrial capacity, also with the aim of overcoming a system of purchases of the member countries that, lacking the obligation of coordination, would favor non-EU production systems (starting with the US one) that currently account for about 80% of the overall supply, in this way risking strengthening strategic dependencies instead of reducing them". The no to the use of cohesion funds for military spending was reiterated.
But, speaking at the assembly of the groups, Schlein focused his speech above all on the divisions of the right and on the criticism of Meloni: "This resolution allows us to enter head-on into the contradictions of this majority that we have seen and that we will also see in the resolution, if it arrives, and we will see what there will be and above all what there will not be given that they have three different positions".
And again: "The positions that Meloni has taken in these weeks go against the national interest from several points of view. We will insert ourselves into the contradictions of that one", namely the prime minister, "who spent the beginning of the year selling herself as a bridge between Trump and the European Union and who has already become the silent accomplice of a project of Trump's disintegration while authorizing the resumption of the massacre in Gaza and while dealing with Putin without the EU and without Ukraine as if she were discussing her borders and those of an invaded country".
The Democratic Party thus reaches a recomposition after the very strong tensions of the past few days. At least for today, there is a show of satisfaction. Piero De Luca, reformist area, says: "The resolution of the Democratic Party, the result of positive shared work, contains a clear message, the invitation to strengthen the path of building Europe's strategic autonomy". For Alfieri, it was "a positive act of sharing". And Paola De Micheli tries to close the discussion around the congress brought forward after the fracture in Europe: "The mediation found in the Democratic Party shows that no congress is needed. If the Democrats discuss and compare themselves, the best synthesis is found".