Guido Montani is professor of international political economy at the University of Pavia. He is a former president of the European Federalist Movement in Italy. He founded in 1987, in Ventotene, the Altiero Spinelli Institute for Federalist Studies. His latest book is Anthropocene and Cosmopolitan Citizenship: Europe and the New International Order (Routledge, 2024).
President Christine Lagarde's recent proposal signals a pivotal shift, aiming to elevate the euro's international standing and bolster European foreign policy independence.
The proposal by the French president and the German chancellor for a €500 billion recovery fund refocuses attention on the EU budget—but that raises wider issues.
In the face of the momentous internal and external threats facing European citizens, a merely intergovernmental European Union will fail to match them.
