Italy-France economic, military cooperation

Aerospace and Defense Review | Thursday, December 16, 2021

European Union defense, aerospace and technology will benefit from the signing of a bilateral deal signed by Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and the French President, Emmanuel Macron.

FREMONT CA: European Union defense, aerospace and technology will benefit from the signing of a bilateral deal signed by Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and the French President, Emmanuel Macron.

The deal strengthens collaboration in critical sectors, from security to justice, science to industry, Draghi said. That includes spending to create, a true European defense that Draghi said, obviously is complementary to NATO  and doesn't substitute the alliance. Sovereignty requires knowledge of a border defence system, continues Draghi.

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He also mentioned his interest in boosting investments in important industries like semiconductors, where Asian shortages are affecting global supply chains, and renewable energy sources, where governments aspire to reduce global warming.

Macron said the deal does not replace France's long-standing friendship with Germany, which he claimed was vital to postwar Europe's economic and security.

Among the treaty's terms is the establishment of a Franco-Italian civil service and operation centre. Every three months, a minister from one country will join the other's Cabinet. The accord aims to stimulate and speed the process of European integration, Draghi stated.

Macron also spent an hour with Pope Francis in the Vatican, giving him two biographies of St. Ignatius of Loyola, Francis' Jesuit order's founder.  According to a Vatican statement, Macron and the Vatican secretary of state discussed climate change, the COP26 summit in Glasgow, France's role in Lebanon, the Middle East, and Africa, and its forthcoming EU presidency. The two countries also agreed to work together on future Ariane 6 and Vega 6 rockets, according to a separate statement

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