Mattarella: War Is Spilling Blood Close to Us, We Must Not Give Up

President of the Italian Republic Sergio Mattarella used the ceremony for the conferral of state honors to issue a strong warning about threats to peace in Europe. During the ceremony at the Quirinal Palace on March 3rd, he stated that "war has returned to spill blood in the world, also close to us". The next day, March 4th, during another meeting, he again emphasized that "war is close to Italy". Although he did not name any country, the geopolitical context is clear: his words refer to the ongoing, now over four-year-long, Russo-Ukrainian war, which is taking place just a few hundred kilometers from the borders of the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Western Europe lived for decades after the end of the Cold War with the belief in lasting peace on its continent, based on integration within the EU and NATO security guarantees. Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, radically shattered this sense of security, restoring the real threat of large-scale armed conflict on the Alliance's eastern flank and forcing European states to rethink their defense policies. A key element of Mattarella's message was an appeal for moral and political mobilization. The president appealed not to surrender to a sense of inevitability and fatalism. "We must not resign ourselves to the inevitability [of war]" – he said on March 3rd, and the next day added: "we cannot give up". His call to "tear down the walls of indifference and resignation" constituted a critique of passivity in both societies and leaders. Mattarella clearly referenced historical lessons, recalling that attempts to build walls (physical or mental) in the past have always ended in failure. This message takes on particular significance in the context of intra-EU debates concerning the level of support for Ukraine and Western cohesion. The second pillar of the Italian president's critique was the condemnation of egoism in international relations. He stated that "there are those who think only of their own interests". This sentence, uttered in the context of war, is widely interpreted as an allusion to the actions of certain powers which may pursue their geopolitical goals while ignoring the consequences for global stability and international law. It may also refer to isolationist or nationalist stances emerging in the politics of some states. The speech was delivered during the conferral of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, which emphasized its official and state character. Mattarella noted that the honors recognize those who serve the common good and solidarity, thereby creating a clear opposition between the desired civic attitude and the criticized individualism. „La guerra è tornata a spargere sangue nel mondo, anche vicino a noi. Non dobbiamo rassegnarci a inevitabilità.” (War has returned to spill blood in the world, also close to us. We must not resign ourselves to inevitability.) — Sergio Mattarella The Italian president's statement fits into a broader, intense debate about the future shape of European security and Italy's role in international structures. As the head of state of a country with significant influence in the EU and NATO, Mattarella spoke at a time when the discussion about long-term support for Kyiv and strengthening European defense capabilities is extremely current. His tone, combining realpolitik with an appeal to values, constitutes an important voice in a discourse that transcends Italy's borders and touches on fundamental questions about solidarity, responsibility, and the shape of the international order in times of crisis.