Italian President Sergio Mattarella received the 13 non-executive presidents in his official residence in Rome. In his address at the end of the 16th meeting of the Arraiolos group, Van der Bellen emphasized that Europe should “be more self-confident and show more courage”.
Europe is an international model of success that is committed to multilateralism. With multilateralism one can promote dialogue, understand the position of the interlocutor and find compromise solutions, said Van der Bellen in his statement in the courtyard of the Quirinal.
“Over the course of this year we have taken important steps forward together. Crises have taught us that our sovereignty is closely related to the defense and the development of a common sovereignty of the Union,” said host Mattarella. He also spoke of the EU’s “Next Generation” reconstruction program. This is a far-reaching program in the direction of a “green and digital transition”. Mattarella stressed the need for Europe to complete economic, monetary and fiscal union. On defense policy, Mattarella said it was time for the EU to “fully complement” NATO.
In addition to Van der Bellen, the representatives from Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Croatia, Latvia, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia and Finland traveled to the meeting in Rome. The two working sessions dealt with the topics “Importance of the EU’s strategic autonomy” and “The EU’s contribution to multilateralism after the pandemic”.
The meetings of the Arraiolos group, named after the place where they first met in Portugal, have been held every year since 2003 (with the exception of 2010 and 2020). In the course of the enlargement of the EU, the number of participating non-executive heads of state, who in particular perform representative tasks in their countries, increased significantly. Next year the Arraiolos groups will meet in Malta.
