Antonio Tajani (; born 4 August 1953) is an Italian politician who has been serving as Deputy Prime Minister of Italy and Minister of Foreign Affairs since 22 October 2022. He served as President of the European Parliament from 2017 to 2019, as European Commissioner from 2008 to 2014, and also as a member of the European Parliament from 1994 to 2008 and again from 2014 to 2022 until he was elected to Italy's Chamber of Deputies. Following the death of Silvio Berlusconi, Tajani was appointed secretary of , becoming the party's new leader on 15 July 2023.
Career Early years Born to a mother from Ferentino, in the province of Frosinone, and a father from Vietri sul Mare, in the province of Salerno, Tajani attended the Liceo Torquato Tasso in Rome and graduated in law from the Sapienza University of Rome; he was a reserve officer of the Italian Air Force. After attending the high specialization course in air defense at Borgo Piave di Latina, he was air defense controller at the San Giovanni Teatino radar base. In his youth Tajani was a militant of Fronte Monarchico Giovanile (Youth Monarchist Front), a student organization of the Italian Monarchist Union (UMI). He has consistently advocated the return from exile of the House of Savoy (which was banned by the Italian Constitution until 2002, when the Italian Parliament lifted the ban).
Tajani was one of the founders of the party in 1994, and then regional coordinator of the party in Lazio from 1994 in 2005. In Berlusconi's first government (1994–95), he was a spokesman for the Prime Minister. In 1996 he ran for parliament in the Alatri constituency, but obtained 45.3% of the votes and was defeated by the representative of the Olive Tree. In 2001, Tajani was a candidate for mayor of Rome for the coalition of the House of Freedom, but was defeated by Walter Veltroni after polling 47.8% of votes. A professional journalist since 1980, he was parliamentary reporter, editor of Il Settimanale, presenter on Rai of Gr1, and head of the Roman editorial staff of Il Giornale newspaper under the direction of Indro Montanelli. He was a special envoy to Lebanon, the Soviet Union and Somalia. In addition to Italian he speaks English, French and Spanish. He is married to Brunella Orecchio and has two children. He is Catholic.
European Parliament In 1994, Tajani was elected a Member of the European Parliament (MEP), and reelected in 1999 and 2004. He was chairman of the delegation of to the European Parliament from June 1999 until May 2008. Since 2002 (the year of the Estoril Congress), Tajani has been one of 10 vice-presidents of the European People's Party. He was re-elected at the Rome Congress in 2006 and at the Bonn conference in 2009, and then again at the Bucharest Congress in 2012.Il Velino.it, 10 dicembre 2009
At the 2004 European Parliament election in Italy, Tajani was elected from a list of in the Central college, receiving 122,000 preferences. He was admitted to the European People's Party. Tajani was an MEP for Central Italy with the party from 2004 to 2008 and sat on the European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs. He was a substitute for the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs and a member of the Delegation for relations with Israel."Barroso II: 13 EPP Commissioners receive key portfolios", European People's Party, 27 November 2009; accessed 28 November 2009 He was a member of the European Convention, which drafted the text of the European Constitution that never entered into force. He was a member of the Working Group on the Conference on the Future of Europe. European Commissioner for Transport On 8 May 2008, Tajani was appointed as Italy's EU Commissioner by newly elected Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, replacing Franco Frattini, who became the new Italian foreign minister. Tajani received the Commissioner for Transport portfolio. He was officially approved in his post by the European Parliament on 18 June 2008 with a vote of 507 to 53 with 64 abstentions. He also served as Vice-President of the European Commission. In this role, Tajani promoted the rescue plan for Alitalia, through the involvement of private funding in the airline capital. His plan was not successful and Alitalia is remains in terminal administration only supported by illegal state aid.Tajani oversaw the drafting of new EU Regulation relating to transport, including clarification of the rights of passengers in air transport. The aim was for passengers to receive assistance and reimbursement in case of denied boarding, cancellation or delay of the flight. The proposals were poor, resulting in widespread evasion by the airlines across Europe and abuse by customers. Both parties have called for reform of the legislation to make it fair and workable.
European Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship
In 2009, Tajani was reappointed as a member of Italian nationality of the second Barroso Commission, as European Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship; he remained one of the four Vice-Presidents of the Commission.Congratulazioni del ministro degli esteri Frattini per la nomina Valutazione del Parlamento Europeo su Tajani come commissario all'industria, a seguito di audizione The confirmation of Tajani followed the decline of the candidacy of Massimo D'Alema as High Representative for Foreign Policy. For Tajani an alternative foreshadowed would have been a candidacy as president of the Lazio Region."Europa" , 21 novembre 2009 Michel Barnier was twice Acting Commissioner in his stead, from 19 April 2014 – 25 May 2014 while he was on electoral campaign leave for the 2014 elections to the European Parliament and from 1 July 2014 – 16 July 2014 after he took up his seat.
In October 2012,Fare più industria contro la crisi Il Sole 24 Ore, 17 Ottobre 2012 Tajani launched his campaign for a new industrial revolution in Europe,L'Europa si è accorta che senza industria non si vive Milano Finanza, 18 Dicembre 2012 in order to flip the tendency of the economic crisis,Une politique industrielle plus forte pour sortir de la crise Le Monde, 18 Dicembre 2012Uma polìtica industrial europeia mais forte para sair da crise Diario de Noticia, 19 Dicembre 2012 and also to revamp industry.Europe needs an industrial revival Wall Street Journal, 18 Dicembre 2012 The concrete goals of this initiative, aimed at re-industrialization,Tajani, piano europeo per la reindustrializzazione Il Sole 24 Ore, 10 Ottobre 2012 are bringing the value of industry to as much as 20% of GDP by 2020, creating new jobs, and promoting sustainable growth.Niente dighe all'industria UE Il Sole 24 Ore, 20 Dicembre 2012 The new Late Payments Directive 2011/7/EU, with the goal of countering payment delays in commercial transactions, was adopted in 2011.Basta ritardi nei pagamenti Il Sole 24 Ore, 10 Aprile 2012 Following the adoption, Tajani urged a prompt implementation in all member states,Pagamenti, l'Ue contro i ritardi Il Messaggero, 5 Ottobre 2012 even before the official deadline set for 16 March 2016. Euractiv, 5 Ottobre 2012 In order to further accelerate the process, he launched an information campaign across the 27 member states that takes place between October 2012 and December 2014. In March 2013 Tajani, along with Commissioner Olli Rehn said that the European Commission is ready to acknowledge "mitigating factors" on the assessment of compliance with the deficit and debt criteria, in the context of a plan for the disposal of old debts of the public administration to enterprises.Statement by Vice Presidents Rehn and Tajani on commercial debt of public administrations 18 March 2013
During 2012, Tajani led the drafting of a proposal to simplify the procedure to register cars in another member state within the European Union.Immatricolazione intracomunitaria da sveltire, la Commissione europea insiste Sicurauto, 6 Aprile 2012 Concretely, the proposal, which should come into force in 2014, aims at reducing to a minimum the administrative procedures necessary to register cars, vans, trucks and buses in another member state. Euractiv, 4 Aprile 2012 Furthermore, it would be impossible to register in another country a stolen vehicle, thanks to the enhanced cooperation of the competent authorities at the European level. In order to support the European fight against counterfeiting of industrial goods, in December 2012, Vice President Tajani launched an awareness campaignUE, Tajani, Contraffazione toglie a Italia 110 mila posti di lavoro La Stampa, 20 Dicembre 2012 for the citizens. Moreover, in February 2013 the European Commission further reinforced market surveillance through a plan to reinforce the controls of the products in the internal market.Contraffazione, dalla Commissione UE nuovo regolamento pe rafforzare i controlli in tutti gli Stati Membri L'Avvenire, 15 Gennaio 2013 In particular, the "Made in" is part of the discussion on counterfeiting, especially for the textile sector in Italy.Brussels woos fashion's corporate titans Financial Times, 28 Febbraio 2013 The package presented by Tajani and Tonio Borg, European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy introduces among other things the denomination 'Made In' for products manufactured in and outside the EU, so as to better supervise what enters into the European market.Sicurezza prodotti, nuove norme Ue c'è l'obbligo di indicare l'origine Repubblica, 13 Febbraio 2013With the goal of promoting competitiveness,Auto, piano europeo per il rilancio Il Sole 24 Ore, 5 Giugno 2012 alongside sustainable development of the European automobile industry,Auto, Bruxelles vara il piano d'azione Europeo Il Messaggero, 9 Novembre 2012 Tajani presented a plan in November 2012,Piano di rilancio dell'auto: la Ue punta sui fondi Bei Il Sole 24 Ore, 9 Novembre 2012 called the Action Plan CARS2020.EU Kommissar Laedt zum Autogipfel Financial Times Deutschland, 9 Novembre 2012 The plan focuses on a transition towards more energy efficiency and alternative energy sources, as well as technologies and advanced materials for the production.Guarded welcome for EU drive to help struggling car industry Financial Times UK, 9 Novembre 2012 Among the actions that Tajani undertook to foster growth and regain higher levels of employment, it is worth mentioning an Action Plan,Tajani unveils plan to make entrepreneurship more attractive European Voice, 10 Gennaio 2013 aimed at supporting entrepreneurs,Il piano Tajani: più imprenditori, anche con il crowdfunding Europarlamento24, 9 Gennaio 2013 through specific measures to facilitate business transfers, increase access to finance, and give a second chance following a bankruptcy.Antonio Tajani on SMEs, strategy and new economy Euronews, 15 Gennaio 2013
Another of Tajani's initiatives was a project called "50,000 Tourists", launched on 1 June 2011, which focussed on promoting low-season tourism between Europe and South America, encouraging cooperation between European governments, the tourism industry, and airline companies.The European Commission is promoting travel during the offseason in the EU and South America Eurochile, 25 June 2012 The initiatives connected to tourism include a Travelers Decalogue in August 2012,Turista avvisato, il decalogo della Commissione europea Eunews, 2 Agosto 2012 a series of rules to travel in full safety. Additionally, in November 2012 Tajani presented, in collaboration with the European Commissioner for Internal Affairs Cecilia Malmström, a Communication to examine how the implementation and development of a common policy in terms of visas could support the EU growth by providing more chances for foreign travelers to visit the Union.Commission banking on potential of Chinese and Russian tourism Europolitics, 7 Novembre 2012