10-11 October 2008

The Spain-Italy Dialogue Forum brings together representatives from civil society in an annual meeting which has been held since 1999 in alternating venues in each country. Genoa, Barcelona, Roma, Valencia, Milan, Jaén-Granada, Verona and Toledo are now followed by Pisa, which will be hosting the 9th Dialogue Forum on 10-11 October. The result of a long history of collaboration, and with the aim of encouraging research on issues that are important for Spanish-Italian relations, the organising bodies – AREL and the CIDOB Foundation, together with the Forum sponsors – will be awarding the first "Spain-Italy Dialogue Forum" Prize.

The Forum has reached its ninth year at a time that is particularly tense in terms of relations between the two countries. On one hand, the business world has borne witness to major transactions that have united major business projects in key sectors such as infrastructures, telecommunications and energy, creating an unprecedented interdependence between the two economies. On the other hand, the uncertainty over the European Union’s institutional reform, following the Irish "no" vote to the Lisbon Treaty, and the unfavourable economic situation in the Euro zone all present serious challenge for the governments that began their terms of office this year. Furthermore, Spanish-Italian co-operation is facing the challenge of how to build a migration policy in the Euro-Mediterranean that will achieve consensus in the fight against illegal immigration, and that will forge a political desire committed to supporting the social and economic development of the countries of the southern edge of the Mediterranean.

The Forum, where leading figures from civil society are able to freely discuss these contemporary issues, has been created as an ideal framework for proposing new ideas and initiatives for joint action to the Spanish and Italian governments. Thus, Forum participants will be deciding on specific proposals to be submitted before the governments of the two countries, on the eve of the bilateral summit scheduled to take place in the second half of 2008.