New York, March 12, 2019
— Remarks by Lucio Caputo – GEI President
It is with great pleasure that – on behalf of GEI and myself – I extend the most cordial welcome back to President Giuliano Amato who was already a guest of GEI 21 years ago, on April 17, 1998.
During these past 21 years several things, some very dramatic, happened in the world and in Italy and today we are all living in a completely different environment, facing serious problems ranging from climate change to terrorism, from mass immigrations to complex economic problems and evolving political situations.
It is therefore of extraordinary importance to have the fortune, the pleasure, and the honor to have again with us President Amato who, in his long political career that spans over sixty years from 1958 to today, has been at the center of the Italian political scene.
President Amato is Professor Emeritus at the “European University Institute” in Florence and at the “Università La Sapienza” in Rome, he has been a member of the Italian Parliament for 18 years, he was Deputy Prime Minister, twice Treasury Minister, Minister of Interior and twice Prime Minister of Italy.
He also headed the 2003-2005 International Commission on the Balkans and was Vice President of the Convention on the Future of Europe that drafted the European Constitution. A Honorary Fellow of the “American Academy of Arts and Sciences” and former President of the “Superior School S. Anna” in Pisa and of the “Istituto dell’Enciclopedia Italiana”, he currently is a Justice of the Italian Constitutional Court.
He has written books and articles on antitrust, personal liberties, government, European integration and humanities.
M I am sure we are all interested in hearing President Amato’s comments on the present Italian situation and on the consequences that the forthcoming European election may have both in Italy and in Europe.
I am, therefore, very pleased to welcome back to New York, President Giuliano Amato, and present him with the “GEI Friendship Award” in recognition of his many outstanding accomplishments.