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.

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.

Moreover, resolving the mother of all problems - the Israeli-Palestinian question - requires cooperation between Europe and the U.S.

But Italy can only have any real influence on world affairs if it carries weight in Europe.

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.

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.

The Italian economy is certainly the weakest of the big European countries.