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| In search of Europe: Italy | In search of Europe: Italy |
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| Illegal immigration is making Italians look to the EU for action, the BBC's Jonny Dymond reports, as he tours the continent ahead of this week's European elections. | Illegal immigration is making Italians look to the EU for action, the BBC's Jonny Dymond reports, as he tours the continent ahead of this week's European elections. |
| JONNY DYMOND I'm Jonny Dymond and I've said goodbye to the BBC Brussels bureau for the next few weeks. I'll be taking the temperature in nine EU member states before the European Parliament elections on 4-7 June. I'm going to ask voters what they think of the EU and what their priorities are. Join me on the trip! Jonny Dymond's route map Your comments | JONNY DYMOND I'm Jonny Dymond and I've said goodbye to the BBC Brussels bureau for the next few weeks. I'll be taking the temperature in nine EU member states before the European Parliament elections on 4-7 June. I'm going to ask voters what they think of the EU and what their priorities are. Join me on the trip! Jonny Dymond's route map Your comments |
| On a warm summer's day, the thunder clouds banished from the northern Italian sky, the sunshine pours down on a park in Verona. For hours people stream from the city towards a large field. | |
| The field is lined with stalls representing maybe more than two dozen countries - Thailand, Guyana, Congo, Brazil, the Philippines, and Nigeria are amongst those represented. | The field is lined with stalls representing maybe more than two dozen countries - Thailand, Guyana, Congo, Brazil, the Philippines, and Nigeria are amongst those represented. |
| At the front of the field a stage has been built and bands from South America play, dancers go through their routines and, to the cheerful exhortations of organisers, the flags of countries not normally seen or heard of in Italy - or for that matter in much of the European Union - are paraded in front of the swelling crowd. | At the front of the field a stage has been built and bands from South America play, dancers go through their routines and, to the cheerful exhortations of organisers, the flags of countries not normally seen or heard of in Italy - or for that matter in much of the European Union - are paraded in front of the swelling crowd. |
| This is the Festa dei Popoli, a celebration of global diversity, held in town and cities across Italy every year. One of its organisers is Padre Fabrizio Colombo, a former missionary priest in Africa. | |
| Padre Fabrizio celebrates diversity and encourages Italians to do likewise | Padre Fabrizio celebrates diversity and encourages Italians to do likewise |
| He acknowledges the festival's good luck with the weather, explaining that it always seems to work like this, looking up into the skies and saying cheekily that "He" looks after the event. | He acknowledges the festival's good luck with the weather, explaining that it always seems to work like this, looking up into the skies and saying cheekily that "He" looks after the event. |
| "It's a day," Padre Fabrizio explains, "where we enjoy the cultures of others". | "It's a day," Padre Fabrizio explains, "where we enjoy the cultures of others". |
| The day has a curiously un-Italian feel to it, with its overt display of diversity. For hundreds of years Italy has been an emigrant country; now it is learning to deal with the presence of many other races and cultures within its borders. | The day has a curiously un-Italian feel to it, with its overt display of diversity. For hundreds of years Italy has been an emigrant country; now it is learning to deal with the presence of many other races and cultures within its borders. |
| "I don't think it is a problem," says the Padre. "There are these two faces. On the people's side, we are ready to welcome. But unfortunately we are experiencing a political situation which sees immigration as an enemy - which it is not, actually." | "I don't think it is a problem," says the Padre. "There are these two faces. On the people's side, we are ready to welcome. But unfortunately we are experiencing a political situation which sees immigration as an enemy - which it is not, actually." |
| Others out enjoying the sunshine are not so sure. An hour's drive away, in the town of Trento, those in the little town centre park mention immigration as a problem time and time again, when asked what's important about the upcoming election. | |
| Northern Italy has traditionally been the great engine of Italian growth, sucking up manpower from the poorer South. Now that sucking sound has been heard over the other side of the Mediterranean, drawing hundreds of thousands of immigrants a year across the sea to what must seem like astonishing riches. | Northern Italy has traditionally been the great engine of Italian growth, sucking up manpower from the poorer South. Now that sucking sound has been heard over the other side of the Mediterranean, drawing hundreds of thousands of immigrants a year across the sea to what must seem like astonishing riches. |
| This fruit seller says politicians must do more to tackle illegal immigration | This fruit seller says politicians must do more to tackle illegal immigration |
| Some of them are to be seen in the park, some without papers, many now without work. They sit, sleep and chat a few yards away from a sprinkling of stalls selling farm produce in the heat. | Some of them are to be seen in the park, some without papers, many now without work. They sit, sleep and chat a few yards away from a sprinkling of stalls selling farm produce in the heat. |
| Behind a raspberry and strawberry stall Paolo Fontaneri, 64, hands over punnets and takes in cash. Decades ago, he says, he worked as a steward aboard the same cruise ship as Silvio Berlusconi, then a singer, now Italian prime minister. His one-time shipmate will get Paolo's vote come the elections this week. | Behind a raspberry and strawberry stall Paolo Fontaneri, 64, hands over punnets and takes in cash. Decades ago, he says, he worked as a steward aboard the same cruise ship as Silvio Berlusconi, then a singer, now Italian prime minister. His one-time shipmate will get Paolo's vote come the elections this week. |
| "We need to fix the problem of immigration. Here in Italy a lot of people are coming with no documents at all. We do need foreign labour here in Italy. But they must be legal. They shouldn't be here looking for jobs for months. This is wrong." | "We need to fix the problem of immigration. Here in Italy a lot of people are coming with no documents at all. We do need foreign labour here in Italy. But they must be legal. They shouldn't be here looking for jobs for months. This is wrong." |
| Immigration is not the only issue in town. The economy and the environment are also mentioned, as is the need for greater European unity. There is still an enthusiasm for the EU amongst citizens of this founder-nation, that has been absent in so many other places I've visited. | Immigration is not the only issue in town. The economy and the environment are also mentioned, as is the need for greater European unity. There is still an enthusiasm for the EU amongst citizens of this founder-nation, that has been absent in so many other places I've visited. |
| But no single issue comes up as often as the need for controls on immigration. And many people see immigration as an EU responsibility. If necessary, a fair few people venture, the EU should get more powers to deal with the issue. | But no single issue comes up as often as the need for controls on immigration. And many people see immigration as an EU responsibility. If necessary, a fair few people venture, the EU should get more powers to deal with the issue. |
| There's a logic to that, according to Tito Boeri, a professor of economics and organiser of the hugely popular Economics Festival in Trento. | There's a logic to that, according to Tito Boeri, a professor of economics and organiser of the hugely popular Economics Festival in Trento. |
| "Given that we are at the border of the Union, that we have all these sea borders with Africa, and we have all these people coming in," he says, Italians "would like Europe to be more effective and supporting Italy in border protection". | "Given that we are at the border of the Union, that we have all these sea borders with Africa, and we have all these people coming in," he says, Italians "would like Europe to be more effective and supporting Italy in border protection". |
| And he warns that the days when Italians' support for the EU could be counted on unconditionally are coming to an end. | And he warns that the days when Italians' support for the EU could be counted on unconditionally are coming to an end. |
| "Until recently Europe was perceived as being our safety [net]," he says. "But now Europe has been somewhat disappointing to Italians. They are stuck in the middle of the river. They don't like the Italian ruling class. But they don't like the European one. They are a bit stuck in the doldrums." | "Until recently Europe was perceived as being our safety [net]," he says. "But now Europe has been somewhat disappointing to Italians. They are stuck in the middle of the river. They don't like the Italian ruling class. But they don't like the European one. They are a bit stuck in the doldrums." |
| Up and down the hills of Trentino, vines grow Chardonnay grapes for the Ferrari Spumante that was served, amongst many other places, at the celebrations in Rome of the 50th anniversary of the EU's founding. | Up and down the hills of Trentino, vines grow Chardonnay grapes for the Ferrari Spumante that was served, amongst many other places, at the celebrations in Rome of the 50th anniversary of the EU's founding. |
| Deep in the cellars of his family-owned company, Matteo Lunelli, the vice president of Ferrari Spumante, ponders Italy's European future. | Deep in the cellars of his family-owned company, Matteo Lunelli, the vice president of Ferrari Spumante, ponders Italy's European future. |
| As we talk, the bottles that line the walls from floor to ceiling twinkle out in the darkness. | As we talk, the bottles that line the walls from floor to ceiling twinkle out in the darkness. |
| "The two issues," he says, "that created some scepticism about Europe, have been the euro and immigration. | "The two issues," he says, "that created some scepticism about Europe, have been the euro and immigration. |
| Common EU rules are vital, winegrower Matteo Lunelli says | Common EU rules are vital, winegrower Matteo Lunelli says |
| "Italy by itself will never be able to set an agenda on these kinds of topics. Having common European rules and common European policies is the only way to go." | "Italy by itself will never be able to set an agenda on these kinds of topics. Having common European rules and common European policies is the only way to go." |
| But he warns that you can't create a powerful Europe without the consent and even the enthusiasm of Europeans. | But he warns that you can't create a powerful Europe without the consent and even the enthusiasm of Europeans. |
| "Institutions, rules, have to go together with the mind of the people. You need great statesmen to bring a dream into the mind of the people." | "Institutions, rules, have to go together with the mind of the people. You need great statesmen to bring a dream into the mind of the people." |
| If we want things to stay as they are, one Italian novelist wrote, things are going to have to change. | If we want things to stay as they are, one Italian novelist wrote, things are going to have to change. |
| Italians, in this region at least, still seem to be supporters of the European project. That support is waning as circumstances change. Which of Europe's leaders can help Italians dream again? | Italians, in this region at least, still seem to be supporters of the European project. That support is waning as circumstances change. Which of Europe's leaders can help Italians dream again? |
| In search of Europe: Austria | In search of Europe: Austria |
| In search of Europe: Poland | In search of Europe: Poland |
| In search of Europe: Latvia | In search of Europe: Latvia |
| In search of Europe: Sweden | In search of Europe: Sweden |
| In search of Europe: UK | In search of Europe: UK |
| In search of Europe: Ireland | In search of Europe: Ireland |
| In search of Europe: France | In search of Europe: France |
| 4 May - France8 May - Ireland12 May - UK 16 May - Sweden21 May - Latvia25 May - Poland 29 May - Austria2 June - Italy5 June - Germany | 4 May - France8 May - Ireland12 May - UK 16 May - Sweden21 May - Latvia25 May - Poland 29 May - Austria2 June - Italy5 June - Germany |
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| Send us your comments on Jonny's feature and any questions for him using the form below: | Send us your comments on Jonny's feature and any questions for him using the form below: |
| The BBC may edit your comments and not all emails will be published. Your comments may be published on any BBC media worldwide. Terms & Conditions | The BBC may edit your comments and not all emails will be published. Your comments may be published on any BBC media worldwide. Terms & Conditions |
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