The spirit of Ventotene will save Europe says Renzi

(ANSA) - Rome, February 1 - Europe will be saved by the spirit of its founding fathers at Ventotene and not by economists nitpicking over deficits, Premier Matteo Renzi wrote on his website Monday. "Professionals of the decimal point won't save Europe," he wrote. "We will save Europe with the consciousness of a new generation of European citizens - only the spirit of Ventotene can save Europe from those who would raise walls and shut down Schengen". The small island of Ventotene off the coast of Lazio housed a Fascist prison during World War II, where two of the founding fathers of the European Union, Altiero Spinelli and Ernesto Rossi, were held by the Mussolini dictatorship. The so-called Ventotene Manifesto of 1941 eventually laid the basis for the Union.