Europe is increasingly overshadowed by the United States and now faces an urgent need for strategic autonomy, Romano Prodi, former prime minister of Italy and former president of the European Commission, said in an interview.
Prodi noted that while Europe once pursued a broadly cooperative policy with the United States, that balance has tilted, leaving the continent increasingly dependent and in need of reclaiming autonomy.
"Now we are in some way overwhelmed by the United States, we are losing our autonomy. This is what I do think, Why? Because in the beginning there were some sort of natural familiarity with the United States. I had to deal with many American presidents and even when there were different political attitudes, but the idea is that we were familiar, you know, that the United States was a daughter or a son of Europe, in some way. And then the split increased and increased, but only now, the United States doesn't consider Europe as a friend, but Europe as a branch. Let us put it this way. A branch or worse. Will it be a long term American policy? I don't know. Because it could change, but in this moment I think that we need to preserve what remains of the global policy because the world needs this," he said.
In addition, Prodi shared his insights into how Europe should position itself in this multipolar world, highlighting the significance of Europe's initial position in the affairs of the world.
"Take the position we had before. Not thinking to be a superpower, not the whole of Europe, but to be strong and let's say with authority enough to help some sort of dialogue in the world," Prodi said.
The former prime minister also stressed that Europe's integration process has not yet been completed. If Europe continues to adhere to its current decision-making mechanism, it will never be able to create synergy.
"The case of Europe, in my opinion, is very simple because of all compromise, the great decision must be taken at unanimity. And this is impossible. We have simply to change our rules. We are 27 countries, it is enough to have one to stop any decision," he said.
Former Italian PM says Europe must reclaim strategic autonomy amid US dominance
