ABSTRACT
The Italian Presidency of the European Union (eu) in the first semester of 1996 was confronted with a number of challenges in both the European and domestic arenas. The Italian Presidency coincided with an important juncture in the eu's development. The success or failure of a presidency is measured in terms of the efficiency and skill with which it handles routine eu business, and how it deals with inherited long-term problems and unforeseen crises and emergencies. The government's program highlighted the need for the eu to create a stable economic environment and to implement effective employment policies. The eu should develop its capacity to play a coherent and responsible leading role on the international stage. The impasse was broken when the Italian Presidency successfully negotiated an agreement shortly before the Florence European Council. In Italy, as in many other eu member states, the budgetary constraints imposed by the Maastricht convergence criteria have provoked political opposition.
