Launch of the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the Farnese Palace (12 January 2022) [fr]
The presentation ceremony in Italy of the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union was held on 12 January at the Farnese Palace in Rome.
On January 12, the opening ceremony of the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union took place in the Farnese Palace. For the occasion, the Palace was dressed in "European blue", from Michelangelo’s loggia, visible from Piazza Farnese, to the Salon of Hercules, where the launch of a presidency inaugurated by three key words: "recovery, power, belonging" was held, as already announced on December 9 by the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron.
The ceremony opened with a moving tribute to David Sassoli, who died on January 11, about whom President Macron wrote: "As President of the European Parliament, he continued his commitment to our democratic values, leading the debates in our agora with talent and passion. The Union has lost an Italian patriot, a great European and a tireless humanist.” The French ambassador in Italy Christian Masset dedicated the evening to his memory.
After the Italian, French and European anthems, performed by the young students of the Ennio Quirino Visconti Institute, Ambassador Christian Masset recalled the main priorities of the French Presidency, namely a more sovereign Europe, a new European growth model, a human Europe. At his invitation, Tomaž Kunstelj, Ambassador of Slovenia (the country passing the baton to France) in Italy, Céline Jurgensen, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations in Rome, and finally the Secretary of State for European Affairs Vincenzo Amendola, took the floor.
The evening ended with a concert, during which two pianists, the Slovenian Mjca Pregelj and the French John Gade, performed Slovenian and French pieces.
This important ceremony, in a restricted format, in order to respect the current sanitary conditions, was broadcasted live on the Facebook account of the French Embassy in Italy, where the replay is still available.