A day of reflection on the future of Europe was held in the Chamber of Deputies of the Italian Parliament on 30 November. The President of the Republic, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, also participated. For one day, the flags of all fifteen member countries were displayed in the Chamber. “Let us not passively await other events like those of 11 September urged the president of the Chamber, Pier Ferdinando Casini to rouse us from an unacceptable indolence”. The price of inertia would be “the decline of Europe as a protagonist on the world stage”. “All this added Casini will have a cost, it will also require the allocation of economic resources. So a clear awareness of the necessary sacrifices is indispensable. The European enterprise, from its origins to the present day, has always repaid the nations that have believed in it and committed themselves to it; it has marked not only the pacification, but also the progress of our peoples”. The president of the Senate, Marcello Pera, announced a further four similar events in various Italian cities, dedicated to reflecting on various aspects of the future of Europe: identity and multiculturalism; the role of the European political parties and the organizations of civil society; division and integration of competencies between Union, State and Regions; and education and research. “The 11 September said senator Giuliano Amato , quite apart from the catastrophes it caused in the world, has perhaps restored to Europe and to the Europeans a greater consciousness of their shared understanding of what the European adventure means for the future”. The task is now that of gaining the citizens’ trust in Europe.
