Luisa Morgantini at the European Parliament © EP / PE
The nine lives of Luisa Morgantini
After having spent ten years at the European Parliament defending the rights of the oppressed and battling for a more equitable cooperation with the ACP, fiery Luisa Morgantini, who will celebrate her 70th birthday in a little more than a year, should take some well-deserved rest now that she retires. But knowing her, rest is the last thing on her mind.
The Italian deputy’s combat goes back well before 1999 when she was elected to the European Parliament as an ‘independent’ MP on the list of the Rifondazione Communista. Luisa Morgantini learned to fight for justice in the cradle. She tells The Courrier: “I was born on 5 November 1940 in Villadossola, into a family of partisans. Three years later, after the armistice, my hometown was declared ‘first partisan Republic’”, a reference that fills her with pride.
Luisa Morgantini has not stopped since. After studying industrial sociology and economy at Oxford’s Ruskin College, she was a trade union leader for the metalworkers unitarian trade union. This captivating job does not keep her away from numerous peace associations. Amongst others, she is cofounder of the international movement ‘Women in black – for Justice against War’, and is election observer at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). It would seem that she entered the parliament by chance: “to tell you the truth, I did not think that I would find myself in the European Parliament, as this was not my ambition. I saw myself continuing my fight in civil society. Fausto Bertinotti, Secretary General of the Communist Party, asked me to enrol on the list as an independent MP, to fight the growing threat of militarism in the very heart of the institutions.”
The Altiero Spinelli legacy
This being said, she continues, “I have always been a convinced European in the lineage of Altiero Spinelli’s European thought, in defending values that, in my mind, are often left in the background because of a commercial logic. Before sitting in Strasbourg or Brussels, I was very involved in civil rights battles. Thus, it was only logical that my combat at the heart of the European institutions should focus on the necessity to build equitable relations between rich and poor countries, and more specifically between European Union countries and its privileged partners, all 79 countries of Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific.”
Twice elected to the European Parliament (EP), in 1999 and 2004, during her second mandate, Luisa Morgantini presided over matters of the Development Committee of the EP (2004-2006). She was Vice President of the EP, 2007-2009. Her great combats? There were many. “Amongst other things, I worked to bring the European Parliament closer to its national counterparts, so that national MPs could better understand the European stakes. I also fought to increase the budget allocated to education in developing countries and to suppress ‘linked’ aid, the assistance that ties the Official Development Assistance to the industrial and security policies of industrialised countries. Very recently, I fought – and I was not alone in this, since all the MEPs fought – to soften the European Commission’s rigid attitude on concluding Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA) with the different groups of countries in the ACP. I feel that the European Commission should have listened to us more on this issue.”
Africa, first and foremost
Africa has been at the heart of many of her combats. She gave her support to the Pan-African Parliament and the African Union (AU). “I came back from my latest travels in Africa (last May, she led the EU observation mission during the Malawi elections) convinced that African leaders increasingly take their destiny in their own hands.” In her stride, she applauds “with both hands the EU-AU partnership launched in 2007 in Lisbon. I would also like to salute the work carried out by the European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, Louis Michel, particularly his latest policy to encourage budgetary aid”. Luisa Morgantini is conscious that this new type of assistance – the progressive abandonment of project aid in favour of supporting a government’s national budget – is not devoid of risk: “we will need to ensure that this assistance will not be diverted. The European Parliament has always demanded this. Despite the reticence of some players, I have already witnessed some positive results, even if there is still much to do”, and she adds, “I have just returned from Malawi, and I realise the extent to which the policies depend on those who manage them”.
The spirited deputy will fight on many other fronts too. The low cost access to (quality) medicines to fight neglected illnesses such as malaria or tuberculosis, the eradication of the ‘returns’ directive for immigrants, a lost battle… “It is time that Europe understands that the diaspora has a very important role to play in development, particularly by building bridges between the continents.”
What great challenges await us tomorrow? “The mid-term revision of the Cotonou Agreement that binds Europe and the ACP, and the continuation of the partnership with the African Union. We shall have to remain vigilant on issues of democracy, the APE and civil society.”
Nominated amongst “1000 women for the Nobel Peace Prize” in 2005, laureate for development for the MEP Awards 2006, Luisa Morgantini is not about to give up. The fast-moving civil society, both Italian and international, awaits her.