We the Italians June 27, 2014 - 36 | Page 5

5

Based on your experience, which are the main differences and similarities between Italians who live in Italy and those living abroad?

Certainly in my experience I have seen a great attachment to our country by our compatriots living abroad. I would say that the main difference with Italians living in Italy is that sometimes those who are abroad, especially if residents and now citizens in distant countries, have an idea of Italy in some ways romantic, which stops at what they remind or at what they have been told by their families. Italy is of course changed a lot, the whole world changes, and sometimes great distances does not allow to come back often or how much one would like: and so the memory in a sense stands still to times long gone.

Our country is experiencing difficult times: between costs to be cut, innovations to be introduced, bureaucracy to be fought, everyone - including the Farnesina - is trying to cope with difficult tasks, with very scarce resources. The Italian community in the U.S. has seen the closure of the Consulate in Newark, and other Consulates feel at risk. Given that political decisions are not taken by your office, what can we say to our fellow citizens in America about the difficulties encountered in the rationalization of an already very low budget?

The closing of a Consulate is an operation that hurtseveryone: no one easily takes this kind of decisions. For us, the consular offices are an a fundamental part of our work. The closure of one of them involves upheavals and a different, greater redistribution of effort for those who work in the vicinity of the Consulate which is closed: so, when economic conditions oblige the Ministry to act this way, we don’t do it light-hearted.

But our country is dramatically changing the dynamics of its spending, and these changes have not spared the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: in recent years the number of our employees has fallen by 25%, because those who have retired have not been replaced, if not in small part. Moreover, Italy is in the midst of a strong and painful but necessary spending review: small hospitals are closed, courts from a same area are merged, everyone is doing his part and is enduring sacrifices and this cannot spare the Italian abroad.

On the other hand, in recent years we have heavily invested in innovation and information technology to provide consular services, and we believe that this model will be increasingly useful and effective to meet the needs of our countrymen, together with the availability and the competence of our staff who work in our offices.