The President of the Riigikogu Ene Ergma visited Italy and met in Rome the President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies Laura Boldrini on Thursday and the President of the Senate Pietro Grasso on Friday, to discuss cooperation between the countries.

“Estonia treasures the partnership with Italy in the European Union, NATO and numerous other international organisations. Our views and positions coincide in issues of principle,” Ergma said at her meeting with Boldrini.

“Estonia and Italy support the further enlargement of the European Union. We both wish the defence cooperation was better integrated. We agree on a great number of issues – we just have to use the opportunities that have already opened up or are yet to open much better for the purpose of deepening our cooperation,” Ergma said at the meeting.

In inter-parliamentary relations, Ergma cited the regular and fruitful communication between the parliamentary groups of the two countries as a positive example. She also expressed her hope that the committees will expand their cooperation.

The leader of the Italian Chamber of Deputies was interested in Estonia’s experiences in making various services more accessible and simple for the population by IT-solutions. The meeting touched on issues of migration as well as equal representation of genders in various fields of life.

At the meeting with the president of the Italian Senate Pietro Grasso, the focus was on parliamentary relations as well as on the cooperation of politicians and researchers in solving the problems faced by the state, and in achieving important goals. “Europe would definitely be much more successful if more attention and resources are dedicated to research,” Ergma said. Information was exchanged on the steps taken by the countries to overcome the problems caused by the economic crisis.

Ergma also met with members of the Foreign Affairs Committee and the European Union Affairs Committee of the Italian Chamber of Deputies. The official delegation of the Riigikogu to Italy also included Kadri Simson, Heljo Pikhof, Väino Linde ja Toomas Tõniste.

Photos of the meeting between Ergma and the President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies.