By Silvia Marchetti
ROME (MaceNews) – Italy’s G20 presidency aims to act as a European bridge toward a “new multilateralism” with the US administration of President-elect Joe Biden, said ruling coalition sources.
“It’s an historical moment: it’s the first time Italy has the G20 presidency, and after too many years of US isolationism there is finally a president that wants to mend the rift between the two sides of the Atlantic,” said a top Democratic Party official, who called it a unique opportunity for Italy to boost its standing on the world stage.
The top priority is to mend transatlantic ties that have suffered under the Trump presidency and find a common ground on key global issues, particularly climate change and trade.
The three pillars of Italy’s G20 presidency that started on Dec. 1 are ‘people’, ‘planet’ and ‘prosperity’ aimed at building a sustainable future, ambitious objectives shared by Biden, the sources said.
“Italy will focus on recovering ties between the US and Europe which have been weakened these past four years, and Biden’s intention of rebuilding multilateralism by recovering the historical relationship with Europe are crucial,” one official said.
Fostering transatlantic dialogue is central and Italy will speak for Europe during the G20 presidency in building a partnership with the US to tackle economic challenges triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Italy will attempt to resume failed EU-US trade talks over the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), a proposal launched in 2013 that ended without conclusion at the end of 2016.
“Promoting trade and multilateral economic growth tops Italy’s agenda. As Trump’s era has demonstrated, trade barriers are harmful and it’s positive that Biden doesn’t share that same stance,” said a source.
Another official, however, argued that Biden would pursue US interests aggressively, recalling how the the TTIP faltered during the Obama-Biden administration, so any potential trade deal between the US and Europe would need updating and improving.
Biden may be more open to traditional diplomacy venues such as G20, G7, and G8 than his predecessor, but that doesn’t mean he will be lenient nor bend to allies’ requests that don’t match US interests, said the other source.
Italy is also confident the US will now be more willing to resume climate change talks and reconsider the Paris agreement to cut global emissions, which was ditched by Trump.
Sources argued that in Biden’s announced climate plan there is “room for convergence” and cooperation with Europe, adding that promoting investments in the environmental-friendly economy will dominate Italy’s G20 presidency.
“Though we may have our differences on the subject, there will be an attempt to pave the way to a general agreement on climate change that satisfies all leading nations, from the US to China, Russia and Europe,” said the Democrat official.
With regard to China, Italy thinks Biden could support a shift in global talks from Trump’s narrow focus on trade to the issue of human rights.
“There are a few divergences on China between Europe and the US, but we believe Biden can be willing to focus more on the political, rather than economic, China aspects,” said the Democrat source.