On Thursday 3 April 2025, at the Bonus Pastor in Via Aurelia in Rome, the meeting ‘L’Europa indispensabile’ (The Indispensable Europe) was held, promoted by the Tempi Nuovi association, which was founded by the former Minister of Education Giuseppe Fioroni and is a member of the European Democratic Party. A day of reflection and debate on culture, politics and the future of Europe, also supported by our party, which contributed to the initiative and participated symbolically with a message from Deputy Secretary General Frédéric Petit, a French member of the Assemblée nationale.
In his speech, Petit reiterated the urgency of a renewed European leadership on the international scene, especially on the common defence front. ‘We will build a European defence together because we need it,’ said Petit: ’We will not build a European army, but a defence system, coordinating, organising, financing and investing together. And above all, we will decide together that politics will guide our forces, and not the other way around, maintaining strong control over it.’
The morning began with a moment of cultural exploration by Prof. Giovanni Farese and Mons. Vincenzo Paglia, while the afternoon hosted a political debate led by the Hon. Dalila Nesci with the participation of figures such as Alessandro Cattaneo (FI), Lorenzo Guerini (PD) and Ernesto Maria Ruffini, founder of the ‘Più Uno’ platform.
The focus of the initiative was the final document promoted by Tempi Nuovi, which renews the appeal for ‘a new political protagonism of Catholic Democrats and Popular Democrats’ and for the construction of a common front ‘to overcome divisions and fragmentation’. The text reads: ‘Popularism still has good and strong words to say to Italy and Europe’, and again: ‘There is a need for a political and cultural subject that is not nostalgic for the past but knows how to treasure its legacy in order to act in the present and build the future’.
