"We will only overcome the division in Europe if the will for change receives broad democratic support. The decisions we face are too important to be resolved with technocratic solutions."

"Together we are stronger". Pedro Sánchez and Mario Draghi have relaunched relations between Spain and Italy this Friday with the same motto. The two presidents, who met in Barcelona for the conference of the Cercle d'Economia and the Forum of Dialogue between the two countries, have proposed to intensify the "collaboration" both bilaterally and within the framework of the European Union (EU). Sánchez, in fact, has equated the Franco-German axis to the one formed by Spain and Italy. If the alliance between Paris and Berlin is "the lung that breathes air into European progress", he said, the other "can be considered the heart of the European project". And he added that, without going any further, the agreement on the Next Generation European funds "would not be a reality" if it had not been for "the contribution to the debate and the dynamisation" of the Spanish and Italian governments in the most difficult moments as a result of the pandemic. "We are part of the strategy of European funds [...] and we will deepen our relations," agreed Draghi, who received the medal of honour from employers' organization Foment del Treball.

The former president of the European Central Bank Mario Draghi will most likely be the new prime minister of Italy. The president of the country, Sergio Mattarella, has summoned Draghi this Wednesday at noon to entrust him with the formation of a new emergency government after Tuesday night's failure of the talks between the former partners to re-edit a government led by the hitherto prime minister, Giuseppe Conte.