This is an abstract from the position paper that I submitted to participate at the G8

YOUTH SUMMIT held in Milan in 2009.

The Future of G8:

Outreach and expansion of the Heligendamm process – The role of the G8 in the 21st Century The world’s
economic flows and tangled routes rapidly changed and intensified during the past decades. The
environment of a globalised world has created strong cooperation, leading to mutual benefit as well as
creating new challenges. Probably the main challenges will be the role of the G8 leadership in responding
to global crises as well as its restructuration adapting to the needs of the time. Being aware the of ability to
take action and contribute to resolving global problems is inseparably linked to the economic, social and
political situation in each of our countries and in view of current developments in the world economy
international co-operation and co-ordination is needed as a fundamental basis of international dialogue.

With the 2007 Heiligendamm Summit the major emerging economies known as the Outreach 5 - Brazil,
China, India, Mexico, and South Africa - effectively began to become involved in the G8 framework. Since
then, it has become increasingly evident that the G8 would benefit from a closer involvement with the
Outreach 5 to be considered an effective and representative forum, relying on decisional inclusiveness and
shared responsibility.

In 2009, however, in the face of global challenges requiring collective leadership and responsibility, the
Heiligendamm format also needs to be strengthened. The time has come to go further, to take another
step forward to foster a new international partnership. Given that a “world government” neither exists nor
represents a concrete possibility in the foreseeable future, the real challenge, not only for the G8, but for
the very concept of governance, lies in the search for a format that ensures the right balance between
representation and effectiveness. Representation is necessary to ensure legitimacy to the enterprise and to
its decisions. At the same time, it is evident that overcrowded formats implicate a reduction in their
operational and decision making capability and, therefore, in the possibility of achieving concrete results.

As President of the G8, Italy intends to make its own contribution to renovation of the architecture and to
make a further step forwards towards a strengthened G8. The idea is to define a format that goes beyond
the dialogue begun at Heiligendamm placing Brazil, China, India, Mexico, and South Africa in a more
structured, stable, and permanent association with the countries of the G8. Italy is also of the opinion that
a moderate Muslim, Arab and African country such as Egypt would be a useful addition to the G5 countries.
In this way, a group of countries would be constituted that could be sufficiently representative of the
industrialised and emerging economies, yet sufficiently streamlined to concur on effectively confronting the
massive challenges of globalisation.

Such a nucleus might be enlarged, on a variable geometry basis, to include a limited number of other
countries. However the complexity of the challenges we are confronting requires a more pragmatic and
flexible approach than ever, not least when it comes to defining institutional and decision-making
architecture in order to be ready to face future challenges.
Reform of the UN Security Council

Since the latest amendment of the Charter of the United Nations in 1963, which ncreased the number of
non-permanent Council members, the world has changed considerably. The need to draft an adequate
reform of the system of rules and global governance, especially the UN Security Council reform, is a matter
to which Italy has always been heavily committed. Italy as many other nations believe that it is necessary to
give new impetus, update the decision-making process and provide a better framework in order to tackle
future challenges.

With an adequate reform the necessary progress can be made to make the Council more representative of
the diversity and pluralism of today’s international context, to enable it to respond more effectively to new
challenges and threats to international security. The first issue to focus on is not to seek consensus on
specific formulas or reform models since in the past opposing aspirations have made it impossible to
reconcile the various proposals on the table. An inclusive and open approach will instead be employed that
should allow for the emergence of greater unity of intent among a larger number of countries on a series of
principles and values in confronting the launch of intergovernmental negotiations in a proactive and
constructive spirit.

From Italy’s standpoint the reform process should be based on the following principles: greater
representativeness, effectiveness, transparency and responsibility, as well as the ability to properly reflect
the diversity and pluralism of the contemporary international community. The difficult task however lies in
achieving those principles and maintain an effective decision making structure.

The reform should consider the legitimate interest of all UN Member States to be represented on the
Security Council and envisage not only an increase in its membership but also the necessary changes in its
work methods. The reform should be based on the legitimacy that derives from the broadest possible
consensus. It is necessary to bolster the Security Council by finding a point of equilibrium between greater
effectiveness and better representativeness in order to strengthen its central role in maintaining peace and
security. In order to accomplish these objectives all Member States will have to be flexible and willing to
compromise.

A more representative Council also means making sure that all UN Members States, be they large or small,
can have their voice heard and their interests taken into account in the Security Council.