Roma, 4 giu. – For this episode of Askanews EU Verified Series, we have as our guest Graham Watson, candidate in the North East Stati Uniti d’Europa list for the Renew Europe party. Good morning, Dr. Watson.
Q. Good morning. This is your first time running for office in Italy. What are the differences, if any, in conducting the election campaign here?
Campaigning in Italy is a bit different from when I used to campaign in Great Britain. In Great Britain, you go door to door, trying to convince people. Here, it’s more about street campaigns, handing out flyers. I like this. It’s clear that in Italy, in general, the weather is better than in Great Britain, so the habits are different, and I really enjoy that. I also really enjoy the debates between candidates from various parties, and those debates that take place every day in newspapers and on TV. Today, I’m going to Telenuovo Padova for a debate with other candidates. This is a campaign in which it’s possible to have a real exchange of ideas with different parties. Fratelli d’Italia and Lega want less Europe. We, as Stati Uniti d’Europa, clearly want more Europe because for us, less Europe means more China, more Russia, and as a consequence it means fewer investments, fewer jobs, fewer opportunities for Italian citizens. So, this is a clear debate where certain parties, like for example the PD, the official opposition, find themselves in difficulty because they don’t have clear positions. As Romano Prodi said in an interview two days ago, they don’t have concrete proposals for the future of Italy in Europe. They don’t give the impression of knowing where we’re going. We, Stati Uniti d’Europa, know that we’re heading towards a more powerful Europe, more capable of guaranteeing well-being and security for its citizens.
Q. If you were to be elected, which committees would you like to be a part of and why?
I have already been a part of several committees because I spent twenty years in the European Parliament. I have been a member of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, the Committee on Budgets, and the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and I was president of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs. This time, I would also like to aim for the Committee on Transport, because I believe that transport policy is essential for our transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy, for example, but also to allow better circulation at the European level. I would also like to see a new Trans-European Network for cycling because now with electric bikes, many people are cycling. This already exists thanks to the work of the Italian Federation of Bicycle Friends (Fiab) and similar organizations in every country. In Europe, there is already a European Cyclists’ Federation working to create a transnational network for cycling. It may seem like a strange idea, but it’s true.
Q. And returning to the topic of the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy, what are your thoughts on the goals set by the Green Deal?
I was, and still am, very enthusiastic about the Green Deal. But I have seen that in recent weeks, Von der Leyen has been ready to throw away many of the progress made. And this is a problem because she does not have the right, according to the Treaties, to overturn decisions made by the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers. We have agreed on certain reforms, especially in the agricultural sector, which she now seems ready to discard. We need to have a major discussion with the next President of the Commission, or with the candidates for this position, about what they plan to do during their electoral campaign. The work that has been done is serious and difficult because it requires significant changes from farmers, for example, but it is for the well-being of everyone and also for their future as food and other product producers.
Q. Recently, you were a guest at the Vapitaly in Verona, and on the topic of health challenges in Europe, you highlighted the need for an evidence-based approach. Do you believe that innovation can be a tool to advance harm reduction policies that recognize the important role played by reduced-risk products?
Yes, absolutely. And I have some regret that the Italian government has not yet used the PNRR funds that are there to invest in the three T’s that are the foundation of a successful society. These are talent, technology, and tolerance. What has the Italian government done so far? They have not even used 3% of these funds; they have spent almost nothing. They have spent the PNRR funds to place pro-life advocates in counseling centers. This does not seem like a serious policy for using European funds. I would like to see, as we have seen in France, a clear, solid program from the government and regional governments for investing these funds. Here in Northeast Italy, we have learned in recent days that regional or municipal entities that have already spent or committed the money are being penalized.
Q. Returning to the topic of agriculture, which has been one of the most discussed recently, what do you think about the protests that have taken place, and what do you think the new Parliament should do on this issue?
I’m glad that in a democracy, everyone has the right to protest. And I must say that I also have sympathy for the farmers who are being asked to make significant changes in a short amount of time because we know, for example, that we need to use the land as a carbon sink and that if we don’t do this, there will be too much carbon in the atmosphere, and climate change will proceed very rapidly. But I think it’s important, and that’s how democracy works, that there are discussions between representatives of farmers. There is a large office in Brussels of Italian Confagricoltura: we need to discuss how we can work together to achieve the goals of the Green Deal in a way that makes it feasible, even for them, without imposing too many costs, because we also want agriculture to be competitive in world markets.
Q. One last question: what role do you hope Renew will play in the new European Parliament?
I truly hope that the Renew Group will return with a good number of Members of the European Parliament, preferably more than 100, because we will almost certainly see a broader presence of the far right. And this presence is one that wants to return, as Giorgia Meloni has clearly and loudly stated, to a Europe of small homelands, a Europe of borders. They want to close the border between Italy and Slovenia. That’s not the way forward. These are immense costs for businesses and difficulties for people. We need to do more Europe. The right doesn’t want that. I hope there will be a majority of people who see the possibilities and opportunities of much wider cooperation among Member States.
The interview is over. We thank Graham Watson for joining us and for addressing numerous issues.
Thank you.
