Find out more about Italy’s political system, economy and trade figures, its representation in the different EU institutions, and EU funding it receives.

Campione d'Italia joined the EU Customs Union in 2020. The most notable territorial reductions of the EU, and its predecessors, have been the exit of Algeria upon independence in 1962, the exit of Greenland in 1985, and the withdrawal of the United Kingdom in 2020.

In the 1950s, six core states founded the EU's predecessor European Communities (Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and West Germany). The remaining states have acceded in subsequent enlargements.

As a founding country, Italy has accompanied the process of European integration in all its stages, making Rome an essential crossroads in the history of the construction of European unity.

Located in Europe, Italy has been considered a major Western power since its unification in 1860. [1] Its main allies are the NATO countries and the EU states, two entities of which Italy is a founding member.

9 FEBRUARY 2016 – In Rome, the Foreign Ministers of the EU Founding Member States (Italy, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands) reconfirm their commitment to Europe and the European project, inviting all other Member States to join them.

4 days ago · The General Affairs Council is meeting in Brussels with the participation of Minister for European Affairs, PNRR and Cohesion Policies...

Following the unprecedented crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Italy’s recovery and resilience plan has responded to the urgent need to foster a strong recovery, while making Italy’s economy and society more resilient and future ready.

As European integration started again to be a contentious issue in domestic politics, so declined Italy’s influence. In more recent years: despite Italy’s formal status as a “big” member of the EU, Rome became less relevant than Madrid in EU decision making procedures.

Jan 1, 1995 · The first agreement establishing the European Economic Community was signed in 1957 by six countries: Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Denmark, Ireland, and the United Kingdom joined in 1973, Greece in …