Romano Prodi Quotes
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We are involved in a constitution-building process of historic importance. The Convention should mark a new stage in European integration.
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Foreign policy can mean several things, not only foreign policy in the narrow sense. It can cover foreign policy, relations with the developing world, and enlargement as well.
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Democracies must have equilibrium... and the entanglement of politics and information must be minimized.
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Our continents unification is at hand and we must stand to account.
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Moreover, resolving the mother of all problems - the Israeli-Palestinian question - requires cooperation between Europe and the U.S.
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Are we all clear that we want to build something that can aspire to be a world power - not just a trading bloc, but a political entity?
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I am not a newcomer, you know, so I want to be judged for what I did when I was prime minister last time in Italy and president of the European Commission for more than five years.
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If you don't want to call it a European army, don't call it a European army. You can call it 'Margaret', you can call it 'Mary-Anne', you can find any name, but it is a joint effort for peace-keeping missions - the first time you have a joint, not bilateral, effort at European level.
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We have to give ourselves a constitution which marks the birth of Europe as a political entity.
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There are terrible living conditions and unhappiness, (even) where everybody is Italian.
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No one wants to lose their job, or cede the power they've acquired.
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Italy is divided between us and them, rich and poor, north and south, young and old, employed and unemployed.
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But Italy can only have any real influence on world affairs if it carries weight in Europe.
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In the darkest days of European history, America stood close by us and today we stand close by America. Nothing will ever be the same.
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European government is a clear expression I still use, you need time, but step by step, as in the Austrian case, the European Commission takes a political decision and behaves like a growing government.
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Are we all clear that we want to build something that can aspire to be a world power? In other words, not just a trading bloc but a political entity. Do we realise that our nation states, taken individually, would find it far more difficult to assert their existence and their identity on the world stage.
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The extremist, isolationist policies of Jean-Marie Le Pen have been rejected and crushed
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I don't want to pass a punitive law, or use politics as a vendetta.
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I am sure the euro will oblige us to introduce a new set of economic policy instruments. It is politically impossible to propose that now. But some day there will be a crisis and new instruments will be created.
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It is becoming more widely acknowledged that it is better to have a good constitution than not having a perfect one.
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So when you are faced with a decision on the euro, it is not surprising that many people are confused. They still try to squeeze the euro debate into the old language. But deep down it is a matter of deciding where one's future lies. It is a matter of political will and courage.
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We must now face the difficult task of moving towards a single economy, a single political entity .. For the first time since the fall of the Roman Empire we have the opportunity to unite Europe.
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Think what a revolution it will be if we manage to get everyone to pay their taxes.
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The EU must take on new responsibilities. And these new responsibilities call for intensifying the integration process.