<h6><strong>Eduardo González</strong></h6> <h4><strong>King Felipe VI became this Wednesday the second foreign leader to speak during a joint session of the two Chambers of the Italian Parliament, after Pope John Paul II in 2002. During his speech, the Monarch recalled that “Italy and Spain, together, represent a fifth of the European GDP and almost a quarter of the population of the European Union”, and urged “to continue working together” so that “the voice of the countries of southern Europe, the voice of the Mediterranean, modulates the European response to so many global challenges and the future of the common project”.</strong></h4> The King and Queen of Spain are in Rome on the occasion of their State visit to Italy, which began on Tuesday and has a marked institutional character on Wednesday. The day began at the Quirinal Palace, the main seat of the Presidency of the Italian Republic, where they were officially received by the President of Italy, Sergio Mattarella, and his daughter, Laura Mattarrella, in the presence of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, and the Secretary of State for Trade, Amparo López Senovilla. Later, the King and Queen moved to the Altar of the Fatherland, in Piazza Venezia, to offer a floral tribute to the unknown soldier, and visited the Bel Respiro Palace or Villa Doria Pamphilj, one of the official seats of the Italian Government, where a lunch was offered in his honour by the President of the Council of Ministers of Italy, Giorgia Meloni. In the afternoon, Don Felipe and Doña Letizia visited the Senate, where they were able to observe some friezes recovered from the archives that represent the triumphal procession of Charles V as Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire by Clement VII, held in Bologna on 24 February 1530. <h5><strong>Speech before the Chambers</strong></h5> Then they went to the Montecitorio Palace, where a joint session of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of the Italian Republic took place, in which the Monarch spoke a few words, a “privilege that is granted to very few foreign heads of state”, as Felipe VI himself acknowledged before the parliamentarians. To date, the only precedent of a speech by a foreign leader before the two Italian Chambers was that of Pope John Paul II in 2002. In 1998, during the last state visit, King Juan Carlos addressed both Chambers separately, making the same speech in the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies. The King's intervention is based on the precedent of Mattarella's visit to Spain in November 2021, in which he gave a speech before the deputies and senators in the Congress of Deputies. “Italy and Spain are united by a firm commitment to multilateralism, that is, to a world order based on rules and inspired by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations,” the King told Italian parliamentarians. “We therefore see with logical concern how many multilateral treaties, institutions and forums are suffering accelerated erosion (…) in a complex and volatile global context, with open and latent conflicts, enormous internal and regional inequalities, and with an acceleration of technological changes and the deterioration of the natural environment that sustains human life,” he continued. Regarding the European Union, which “is facing a decisive legislative period these days, leaving behind a complex institutional cycle,” the King warned that “the new Commission must guide the Union towards the future, with lines of action that are essential for the interests of Italy and Spain: from guaranteeing global competitiveness, to investing in a renewed internal market; from projecting the Union with intelligence and solidarity towards its closest neighbourhood, to advancing common defence and open strategic autonomy; from betting on digital transformation, to continuing to protect the rights of our citizens.” “Let us not forget a fact that shows our importance in this process: Italy and Spain together represent a fifth of European GDP and almost a quarter of the population of the European Union,” he continued. “For this reason, although not only for this reason, Spaniards and Italians must be aware of the importance of continuing to work together, but even more intensely if possible,” to “ensure that the voice of the countries of southern Europe, the voice of the Mediterranean, shapes the European response to so many global challenges and the future of the common project,” he said. <h5><strong>Speech at the gala dinner</strong></h5> The day on Wednesday includes a visit by the King to Rome City Hall to meet with the mayor of the capital, Roberto Gualtieri, and a gala dinner at the Quirinal Palace, offered by the President of Italy, during which the King gave a speech in which he stated that the “cultural and historical” affinity between Spain and Italy “also translates into a similar perception of the great challenges of our time, in the world and in Europe”. “It is essential for both to guarantee stability in the Mediterranean and in the Sahel, as well as sustainable development for the African continent”, he continued. “We are moved by the will to contribute to a fair peace for Ukraine, where the invader does not profit from his bet contrary to all rights” and “we are also encouraged by a fervent desire to achieve the silence of weapons in the Middle East, the restoration of diplomatic channels and the cessation of the suffering of the civilian population”, he added. “In Europe, both countries share the priority of promoting orderly and safe immigration flows, so that we can guarantee immigrants the dignity that is owed to every human being” and “we aspire to a leading role in the reindustrialization of our continent, in that leap in innovation that is so necessary, with a view to an ecological transition that effectively and stably generates employment, wealth, productivity and competitiveness,” he said. “We firmly believe that the voice of the countries of southern Europe can and must be heard clearly in this process,” he insisted. After the events in Rome, the King and Queen of Spain will travel to Naples, where they will conclude their State visit to Italy on Thursday. <h5><strong>Albares and Tajani</strong></h5> For his part, José Manuel Albares held a bilateral meeting with the Vice President of the Council of Ministers and Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Antonio Tajani, with whom he discussed “bilateral relations and as partners in the Mediterranean and the EU,” according to the minister through social networks. Likewise, both analyzed “support for Ukraine and the situation in Syria, the Middle East and Sahel” and expressed their support for the UN mission in Lebanon (UNIFIL), in which both countries have a significant military contingent. On the occasion of the State visit of the King and Queen, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has granted, on behalf of the King, the Grand Cross of the Order of Isabel la Católica to Giorgia Meloni, Antonio Tajani, Maria Tripodi, Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation; and Giuseppe Buccino, Italian ambassador to Spain.
