Last week we spoke with Riccardo Illy, who became premier of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of Italy last year with 53% of the vote, only days after his visit to Rijeka where he will meet with the leaders of Kvarner County to discuss their joint plans in the Euroregion.

“I was in Croatia for the first time when I was 14 years old, as my girlfriend at the time had a grandfather on Hvar, and now my family and I sail the Adriatic coast every year,” said Riccardo Illy, premier of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of Italy, former Trieste mayor and leading left-centre politicians in Trieste. This well known member of the family which produces Illycaffe coffee, has become well known over recent years for his efforts to promote the Euroregion project, which would include the Carinthia and Styria regions in Austria, Kvarner and Istria in Croatia and Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Veneto in Italy. He says that he received inspiration for this idea from a visit to Croatia.NACIONAL: Ten days ago, you visited Rijeka to continue talks on the Euroregion which began four years ago with the signing of an agreement between the two Italian and two Croatian regions. Whom did you speak with and about what?

I met with the representatives of the city government and the Rijeka mayor, and will representatives of the Kvarner County, including prefect Zlatko Komadina. We signed an agreement of cooperation in May 2000 with that county. The goal was to confirm this agreement and to begin realizing its goals. For example, it is of great importance for Rijeka that we agreed on the highway to be built from Trieste to the Slovenian border and on to Rijeka. Our regional company Autovie Veneto is in talks with Slovenian DARS on the formation of a joint company which will complete those highways that are important for us in the shortest time period: a highway from Maribor to the Hungarian border and from Trieste to Ljubljana and to the Croatian border towards Rijeka. However, we also spoke about other areas of cooperation outlined in the agreement, and on the Euroregion project in general.

NACIONAL: What does the Euroregion project imply?

The basic foundation for this project are minority languages, and for the time being it includes the Italian regions Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Veneto, the Carinthia and Styria regions in Austria, some Slovenian regions, though I don’t know how many there will be, and Istria and Kvarner in Croatia. The goal is to create a legal subject which would unite all those regions, and which was already foreseen by the Madrid Convention on cross-border cooperation. Recently, the EU Commissioner for Regional Affairs, Michel Barnier, spoke of this. As such, bodies for coordination of joint projects in those regions will be created, and I’m certain will greatly impact the economic, social and cultural development of those regions.

Cooperation is to be based upon mutual language minorities, for example, the Italian minority that lives in Rijeka and the several thousand Croats that live in Trieste and elsewhere in Friuli-Venezia Giulia. This would help to eliminate the borders which will soon disappear with the upcoming accession of Slovenia, and Croatia’s future accession to the EU. Many joint projects have already brought these regions together. The leaders are Gorizia and Nova Gorica, which are cooperating on a large scale. Another example is on the Austrian border: we’ve signed an agreement with allows citizens of Tarisia in Italy to receive medical treatment at the Klagenfurt Hospital in Austria, as it is much closer than the nearest hospital in Italy, at Tolmezzo. This is a model by which we could create a medical network among the regions of various countries, but which would also relate to all other forms of cooperation – in various economic branches and in employing people.

NACIONAL: Considering that this was your initiative, would the centre of the Euroregion be Trieste?

We haven’t discussed that, nor have I given any thought to a centre of power, a kind of capital city of the Euroregion. It should be a polycentric Euroregion, with each region having its own centre responsible for a particular function, or specialty. One could coordinate medical issues, another cultural, a third communal and utility issues.

NACIONAL: Wouldn’t the functioning of a Euroregion with so many centers be complicated?

I think that nothing is complicated anymore because of the Internet.

NACIONAL: However, there should only be one president of the Euroregion.

I think that one is enough and that he should permit each region to express its interests.

NACIONAL: When do you see the idea of Euroregion being realized?

In only a matter of weeks, Slovenia will be entering into the European Union. After that, the regions to enter into the Euroregion should be determined, which should take a few months. I would like to see Croatia on the daily agenda of the EU, to ensure that your country enters into the EU in 2007. Therefore, several years will pass before the Euroregion is a reality. Until that time, we need to crystallize the European norms for establishing the Euroregion, which is something I recently discussed with EU Commissioner Michel Barnier.

NACIONAL: That was in early February during your visit to Brussels. Whom else did you speak with about it?

Barnier is directly responsible for this issue in the European Union. I also spoke with President of the European Commission Romano Prodi. He supports the project because he sees it as a new subject which will ease the cohesion between the various EU borders.

NACIONAL: Were you the person to come up with the idea of the Euroregion?

Not entirely. The first time I heard talk of a Euroregion was many years ago in Brtoniga in Istria. The mayor of the town at the time proposed at a meeting that all the mayors of towns on the Croatia, Slovenian and Italian sides should cooperate more and unite. I liked that idea. On that occasion, we even signed a document on cooperation. Though nothing was formalized, there was occasional talk about the idea. That idea is also included in the much greater and much better known initiative Alpe-Adriatic.

NACIONAL: How did the idea of Euroregion progress?

I spoke about it with people from the Veneto and Carinthia regions, and with Slovenian politicians, Premier Antun Rop, President Janez Drnovšek and Foreign Minister Dmitrij Rupel. For the same reason, I visited President Mesić in Zagreb last fall. When I saw that all of the reactions to the project were positive, I continued. Now we are considering the project from the position of legislation. In Italy, for example, there are problems with the current norms and the Madrid Convention which could be resolved with amendments to Italian law following parliamentary debate. Perhaps the problems could be resolved with bilateral agreements on cross-border cooperation between Italy and Slovenia and Italy and Croatia. I spoke with the Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini about this, and there is political will in Italy to make these ideas a reality.

NACIONAL: The Euroregion would be most beneficial for the city of Trieste and the whole of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, which are outside of the main economic flows in Italy due to their border position. How do you see the position of the city of Trieste and the region today?

For almost 50 years, Trieste suffered due to its isolation, as it was 10 kilometers away from the border which separated it from the former Yugoslavia. Though this was considered to be the most open border in Europe, there in fact was not a large flow of goods and people between the West and the East. That situation formed the fate of Trieste. With the entry of Slovenia, Hungary and 8 other countries into the EU on 1 May, Trieste will receive its chance for economic recovery, especially in the area of logistics and port services, and in cooperation with other ports such as Rijeka. Through the Euroregion project, we also want to regulate the ports, from Rijeka to Trieste all the way to Venice. I am sure that under these new circumstances, Trieste could much better take advantage of business in the areas of insurance and services in trade, law, finance and I believe that new relations will be established in the area of scientific and technological services, where the natural situation of the city can be utilized, centred facing the east and the southeast. Trieste has the opportunity for development if it comes together with all the countries of the former Yugoslavia, and Albania as well. I am certain that Trieste can again become an important centre, as it was during the five centuries of the Hapsburg monarchy.

NACIONAL: In your talks in Brussels you mentioned the so-called Corridor V. How is that project unfolding?

That is a transport route marked on maps which goes from Venice, through Trieste, Ljubljana and Budapest all the way to the Ukraine. Within that route, highways, rail lines, telecommunications lines, oil and gas pipelines can be realized. I am most interested in seeing the highways completed as soon as possible, especially the section from Maribor to the Hungarian border. It is forecast that the Hungarians will complete their section over the Blatno Lake by 2006. I am also interested in rail lines, as that is the best means of transport, the cheapest and ecologically the most acceptable. The current rail route between Trieste and Budapest is old, and a portion from Maribor to the Hungarian border does not have electricity. Recently the Italian company Treni Italia, which deals in passenger transport services, launched an initiative to repair the tracks from Venice to Budapest, passing through Trieste, Ljubljana, Maribor and Graz. Of course, the Corridor V routes which connect Rijeka and Zagreb are also important.

I spoke with Prodi about the possibility to implement fast train lines to connect the section from the town of Ronchi, where the Trieste airport is situated, to Ljubljana, which would be financed by the European Union. We also spoke about projects in countries which are to become EU member states in May, and about future EU states, such as Croatia.

NACIONAL: On the day that Slovenia enters into the EU, a large celebration is planned on the border with Italy. How will that look?

At midnight on 30 April, Romano Prodi will symbolically remove the border which separated Gorizia from Nova Gorica. He will visit the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region and in Trieste will attend a meeting with the EU representatives, businessmen, unions and the Church in order to celebrate this historical event of expansion towards the east.

NACIONAL: You were mayor of Trieste for two mandates. What did you do for your city in that period?

Best visible are the construction projects in the city, from building renewals, such as City Hall to the renovation of the Piazza Unita, the renovations to the harbour, and the coastal area Miramare. What is less visible was the decrease in unemployment. Somewhere in the middle of my time as mayor, in 1997, unemployment had climbed to 10.6%, and fell to about 5% in 2001. I took a series of activities to revive the economy, to save companies in trouble. In that period, numerous companies were undergoing privatization, such as the shipping company ‘Lloyd Triestino’ which was purchased by a group from Taiwan, a large factory for the production of boat motors and electric stations bought by a Finnish group.

I invested much effort in another activity, which is not visible at first glance, and that is improving relations among various ethnic communities in Trieste. After many long and tiring meetings, we succeeded in harmonizing relations among Slovenians, Croats, Serbs, Bosnians, Albanians, Greeks, Turks, and a few Hungarians, which is what my grandfather was. I have always been aware that the diversity of languages, cultures and religions is actually cultural wealth, as well as having enormous economic potential.

NACIONAL: Last fall, Trieste was in fear of the Red Brigade, which sent the mayor a threatening message, and all important politicians in the region, including yourself, received police protection. What happened?

That was not exactly the Red Brigade but, as they called themselves, a territorial anti-imperial unit. Two men were arrested and confessed to the bombing of the centre of Informesta in Gorica, an institution which studies political and economic activities in the countries of central and eastern Europe, and for threatening the mayor of Trieste for supporting the closure of the railroad in a Trieste suburb due to great pollution. This unit was also against the expansion of the EU, as they considered that to be an imperialist idea. Considering that they used the star of the Red Brigade, many saw ties between that unit with the well known terrorist organization.

NACIONAL: You are from Trieste, you were born there and lived your entire life there. However, your ancestors are from Hungary.

I am a true Trieste man, though my grandfather was Hungarian. He came from Temisvara which was once in Hungary, and was later annexed to Romania after the Second World War. My grandmother was half German, half Dutch. On my mother’s side, my grandfather was from Pula, and my grandmother from Rovinj. As you see, my family is quite mixed. I was born in Trieste, finished my schooling here and have always lived here.

NACIONAL: How is it that you began to be intensively active in politics, even though you were and still are, very active in your family company ‘Illycaffe’, the best known Italian producer of top espresso coffee?

That happened by chance in summer 1993 when a group of citizens – businessmen, union leaders, professionals from various fields, scientists, so representatives of civil society – signed a document outlining the situation in the town and its opportunities in the future. They intended for that document to actually reflect on the strategic of the town’s development. I was quite active in the work of that group, and after several months they elected me as its candidate for further political action. That was at the time when my family needed to give their say about that, as I was very involved in the work of the company. We agreed that I should accept the political role, especially since my younger brother Andrea, who also worked in the family business, had showed great managerial skills and could easily take my place.

However, my decision to become politically involved was for the most part made because my family has a strong sense of social responsibility, you could even say we have a mission for social issues, regardless of whether that is financially assisting various initiatives or lending out our managers to work in administration. For me, working in administration was a great challenge and from the very start, in 1997, I had the feeling that the city and the region had great untapped potential which should be activated in order to become as strong as we once were. The local politicians to then were working on completely unimportant things, and not on how to bring back the influence to Trieste and the region.

NACIONAL: How active are you now in the family business?

I am vice-president of the board and I participate in all strategic decisions of the company. I am also at the head of a new holding which includes our small company “Pasta Latina” along with several other small companies.

NACIONAL: Did your grandfather, Francesco Illy, who began the coffee business, teach you Hungarian?

No, he died when I was small, in 1957, and then my father took over the business. Nor does my father speak Hungarian. My grandfather taught him and his sister German, the language of my grandmother. Hungarian always seemed too difficult for us and we never tried to learn it.

NACIONAL: What is the position of ‘Illycaffe’ today in Italy and Europe?

Illycaffe is specialized for very high quality espresso coffee. We used to make several top quality blends of coffee, but we at one time decided to manufacture only one. When you want to achieve the best, it is best to concentrate on only one, but the best, kind. Illycaffe is present in almost all the countries of the world, with branch offices in North America, France, Germany, Spain and Benelux. I also know that it is available in Croatia.

Biography

Born in Trieste, Italy on 24 September 1955 – grew up in a family which produced top quality espresso coffee – Illycaffe – completed schooling and graduated from political science in Trieste – together with his father and brothers, ran operations in the Illycaffe company since his early youth – he was also vice-president of the Industrial Association in the Trieste region – became involved in politics in 1993 and was mayor of Trieste for 2 mandates (1993-2001) – June 2003 he won at the local elections and became premier of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region.