'The European Union remains vital to the United States,' says ECR co-chair Procaccini

Fratelli d'Italia's (FDI) traditional festival, Atreju, returns to the gardens of Castel Sant'Angelo from 6 to 14 December with the theme 'You've become strong - Italy with your head held high'.

The event aims to take stock of more than two years of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government, in an edition that intertwines in the capital with the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) Study Days, which seeks to discuss common priorities and future political scenarios.

Among the guests at Atreju on Friday was Nicola Procaccini, co-chairman of the ECR group at the European Parliament and head of the FDI's environment department.

The new orientation of European conservatives

Procaccini spoke on the climate panel, 'Climate change beyond ideologies', responding to Euronews on what he sees as the impact of the political weight assumed by the Italian experience within the European conservative front, the ECR co-chair explained that a more pragmatic orientation rooted in traditional values is emerging in Europe.

"I believe that this is a new, more pragmatic approach," Procaccini explains, "it's more balanced not only on the Green Deal but also on many other issues. I'm thinking about immigration certainly the governance of immigration, the ability to distinguish between illegal and legal immigration."

"I think there are some values that are becoming more present again, the need to protect families to recover a culture a Christian religious tradition as well. I believe that slowly a conservative sentiment is spreading, capable of bringing us back to the founding idea of the European Union'.

'The EU remains vital to the United States'

Commenting on recent comments from the United States on the European Union, Procaccini does not speak of tones to be 'interpreted', but offers a political reading of what is emerging.

On the one hand, he acknowledges the American criticism of the "loss of European identity," linked to both the demographic crisis and migration flows.

"If we stick to the document and not to the more or less false narratives that have been made, we find a criticism of the European Union that we share with respect to the loss of its identity that is evident and that is due both to the demographic crisis and mass immigration, after which we also find an invocation for Europe to return to being itself that we also share."

On the other hand, Procaccini dwells on the passage he considers most significant:

"Culturally and strategically, the European Union remains vital to the United States. The two halves of the West have a past in common and also a future in common."

Absence of Palestine is a main cause of regional instability

Also speaking from the Atreju stage was Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who reiterated the need for a political solution to the Palestinian crisis.

"The only way to ensure stability in the region is the two-state solution, with a Palestine on the 1967 borders alongside Israel in mutual respect," he said.

The absence of a Palestinian state, he added, is still one of the main causes of instability for the whole area.

European Conservatives debate and closing with Giorgia Meloni

Many speakers participated in panels and delivered keynote addresses on Friday at the festival, which concluded at 9 pm local time.

The programme included speeches by leading figures such as Kemi Badenoch, Marion Maréchal, Gila Gamliel, Adam Bielan, George Simion, Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson and Kristoffer Storm.

The annual event is set to close on Sunday at noon following a speech by Giorgia Meloni, together with her deputies, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani and Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Matteo Salvini, to take stock of the political situation and indicate the majority government's future priorities.