BERLIN, May 24 (Xinhua) -- German officials have urged the newly-designated government in Rome on Thursday to uphold Italy's political and economic commitments as a member of the European Union (EU).
"More than ever, Europe needs a reliable Italian partner which views its own place in the heart of Europe, rather than in the false security of nationalism", Michael Roth, minister of state for Europe at the German Foreign Office, told the magazine "SPIEGEL".
Roth added that many of the proposals enshrined in a coalition agreement between the Italian Lega Nord and MoVimento Cinque Stelle parties were a "source of concern" for Berlin.
The minister argued that the EU was based on a foundation of "solidarity amongst member states." As founding members, Germany and Italy shouldered a special responsibility in this context to work towards a "strong community of values" and "stable societies" together.
Italian President Sergio Mattarella has recently nominated civil lawyer and academic Giuseppe Conte to lead a governing cabinet formed by Lega Nord and MoVimento Cinque Stelle.
German officials and opposition politicians are mainly worried that the technocrat will fail to act as a curb on the Eurosceptic and anti-immigrant sentiment showcased by Lega Nord and MoVimento Cinque Stelle in the past with plans to hold a referendum on Eurozone membership and expel thousands of foreigners.
Speaking to "SPIEGEL" on Thursday, Green party (Gruene) leader Annalena Baerbock emphasized that founding members of the EU were subject to the rule of law and bound by EU treaties like all other members of the bloc. "The most fatal thing would be if the Italian government gave in to a Eurosceptic course", Baerbock said.
Baerbock warned that there was a real danger of a "government of illiberalism and xenophobia" being formed in Rome. In light of recent polling results that two thirds of EU citizens valued their country's membership of the bloc, it was now also up to Berlin to ensure that this trust was not betrayed by straying from its core principles.
Similarly, Free Democratic Party (FDP) foreign policy spokesperson Alexander Graf Lambsdorff told the "Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland" (RND) that the formal nomination of Conte for the post of Italian prime minister was not good news for Europe.
Lambsdorff cautioned that the government's coalition agreement was full of "unrealistic and financially unfeasible demands", including the simultaneous dramatic lowering of taxes and introduction basic minimum income in the highly-indebted country.
