The Treaty of Quirinale between Italy and France

Abstract

Abstract On 26 November 2021, France and Italy signed a Treaty on enhanced cooperation, currently named the Treaty of Quirinale after the residence of the President of the Italian Republic, where the ceremony of signature was held, echoing the Treaty of the Elysée between France and Germany signed by Charles de Gaulle and Konrad Adenauer. However, the Treaty of Quirinale is not aimed at ending any secular conflict like that between France and Germany, which was supplemented by the Aachen Treaty (2019). The French-Italian Treaty is more of a proclamation than a document endowed with rights and duties. The obligatory provisions are mainly those aimed at organising cooperation between the two countries with the establishment of new institutions or enabling the presence of each country in the other’s relevant existing institutions. The cooperation invests the main political sectors of the administration, such as foreign policy, defence, economic and social development, European integration, cultural affairs and neighbour relations. There is not a coordination between the Quirinale Treaty and the Elysée/Aachen Treaty. In case of different views (for instance on the reform of the United Nations Security Council), diplomacy should find the proper solution.