The pandemic has significantly changed our lives. Just a few weeks ago, I took a business trip, my first since February 2020. As luck would have it, that first post-pandemic meeting took place in Rome, in the context of the annual conference organized by Febaf, the Italian federation of banking, securities, and insurance associations. Although the weather was not on our side (I found that it rarely rains in Rome, but when it does, the streets turn into rivers), it was rewarding to reconnect with that common history we share with the Italians, which spans more than two thousand years. <\/p>\n
It is important to step outside our borders, to engage in dialogue again, to abandon that “cave syndrome” which grips not only individuals but also countries, and to seek new alliances, balances, and common ground. This is important because the world has changed since the pandemic, and not only because of it. Events such as Brexit or the shift in US trade policy, which has not been corrected by the Biden Administration, seem to be here to stay, forcing all countries\u2014but especially those in the European Union\u2014to reposition themselves in the international context and also to find new internal balances. <\/p>\n
In the context of this trip to Rome, a question comes to mind for which I do not have a simple answer: why have Spain and Italy failed to maintain a closer cooperative relationship, not only within the European Union but also on a global scale? We cannot ignore the historical ties between the two countries: language, law, shared values (such as the importance of family and friendship), a lifestyle that is the envy of the entire world, etc. But beyond these clich\u00e9s, the truth is that understanding between Spaniards and Italians emerges naturally, as I have seen throughout my professional career, which has had a clear international focus. <\/p>\n
And yet, Spain and Italy, despite being natural allies, are more at odds than one might expect or desire. Almost all of us Spaniards who have moved in international circles have encountered, more than once, some trickery from an Italian colleague, who is much more skilled in the use of the dagger at close range, while we Spaniards were distracted fighting among ourselves, which must also be said. <\/p>\n
Why this lack of unity? The first element is a deeply erroneous perception that there is a zero-sum game between the two countries, such that if one of the two increases its international influence, it is at the expense of the other losing it. This idea does not stand up to even minimal analysis. No one in the Franco-German axis suggests that if France were to increase its international weight, Germany would lose its own. This defeatist vision probably stems from a kind of inferiority complex that Spain and Italy feel toward their northern neighbors. <\/p>\n
It seems as though our two countries have to apologize for having been part of the euro from the very beginning. In fact, it is quite the opposite: in the late nineties, it was very difficult for Spain and Italy to join the group of founding countries of the Monetary Union, yet the combined determination of both nations clearly demonstrated their ability to join forces in pursuit of a goal when circumstances demand it. <\/p>\n
In this regard, it is worth remembering that in the years prior to the launch of the euro, the dominant position in Europe was that the single currency should be implemented at two speeds. The first group would be composed of France and Germany along with a few satellite countries, and the second group would include Spain and Italy, who would still have to prove their orthodoxy after being condemned to a few years of additional penance outside the euro. But Spain and Italy decided to rebel against this strategy\u2014which was completely wrong\u2014so that, at the bilateral summit held in Valencia in September 1996, they announced their intention to meet all the requirements to be among the founders of the euro. And, if I may say so, it was Spain that convinced Italy that the path forward was to fight and not give up. <\/p>\n
However, the situation within the EU itself has changed. With the addition of new members, the completion of Brexit, and the new configuration of the distribution of power within the EU, this dysfunctionality of the Southern axis has ceased to be a mere hindrance and has begun to constitute a first-order strategic risk for both countries. Indeed, with the United Kingdom in the Union, the power of the Franco-German axis was offset by the balancing\u2014and, it must be said, annoying\u2014role of the British. In that tripolar configuration, Spain and Italy moved well within the “gaps” of the tripod to assert their strategic interests. With the departure of the United Kingdom, both countries should be aware that it is necessary to balance the hegemony of the Franco-German axis, for while it is very important for the functioning of the Union, excessive weight can disturb its architecture. <\/p>\n
The relevance of a well-consolidated Southern axis could, moreover, project beyond Europe. Let us not forget that Italy belongs to the G7, a club to which Spain can no longer aspire and which, with the emerging geopolitical tensions surrounding Russia and China, is going to play an important and complementary role to that of the G20. Spain could contribute to that forum, through the Spanish-Italian axis, the Ibero-American connection, where our country enjoys clear advantages, while the Franco-German authorities find themselves outside their natural territory. <\/p>\n
In short, I am convinced that Spain and Italy must rethink their bilateral relations to breathe greater ambition into them. Both countries must be able to abandon petty and short-sighted visions, in order to transform that natural affinity into a driving force that makes the voice of the South heard and valued in Europe and the rest of the world. <\/p>\n