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Francesca Romana D'Antuono

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Francesca Romana D'Antuono
D'Antuono in 2023
Co-President of Volt Europa
In office
October 2021 – November 2023
In office
November 2023
Personal details
Born (1987-08-29) 29 August 1987 (age 37)
Vico Equense, Italy
Political partyVolt (since 2019)
Children1
Education
  • Bachelor's degree in pharmacy
  • Master's degree in marketing and health policy
Alma materSapienza University of Rome
University of Geneva
OccupationPharmaceutical company executive

Biography

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Professional Career

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D'Antuono was born in the Italian region of Campania and grew up in Rome.[1] She studied pharmacy at Sapienza University of Rome from 2006 to 2010, then continued her studies at the University of Geneva, later specializing in marketing, management, and health policy in 2014-2015. In subsequent years, she worked in marketing for AstraZeneca in Milan, Menarini in Florence, and Berlin-Chemie in Berlin.

In 2021, after being elected Co-President of Volt, D'Antuono decided to put her professional career on hold to focus entirely on activism and politics.

Political Activity

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Francesca Romana D'Antuono is currently the co-president of Volt Europa alongside Mels Klabbers.

Volt Italia

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Francesca Romana D'Antuono began her political career in 2019 when she became involved with Volt Italia's campaign for the European elections and decided to join the Volt Florence group. Just a few months later, she was elected local coordinator, a role she held from 2019 to 2020.[2]

Upon moving to Berlin, D'Antuono relinquished her role as local coordinator of Volt Florence, later becoming the coordinator of public relations for Volt Italia.

Volt Europa

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In October 2021, she was elected co-president of Volt Europa alongside Reinier van Lanschot. During her tenure, she has supported various national elections for local Volt representatives[3][4] and promoted the establishment of new local chapters of the party.[5]

In November 2023, D'Antuono was re-elected as co-president of Volt Europa, alongside Mels Klabbers from Volt Netherlands.[6]

In 2024, D'Antuono led the party during the campaign for the European elections. In these elections, Volt Europa contested in 15 European countries, running under its own list and symbol in 10 of them (Belgium, Cyprus, Germany, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, and Sweden). In Bulgaria, France, Greece, Italy, and the Czech Republic, Volt candidates joined politically aligned lists instead.[7] This marked a significant increase compared to the 2019 elections, where Volt was represented in only 8 EU countries (Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden). For these elections, Volt also created its first symbolic transnational list for the 2024 European elections, including non-EU countries like Albania and the UK.[8]

After the elections, Volt Europa increased its MEP count from 1 (Damian Boeselager, elected in Germany in 2019) to 5 (Anna Strolenberg and Reinier van Lanschot, elected in the Netherlands, and Damian Boeselager, Nela Riehl, and Kai Tegethoff, elected in Germany).[9]

D'Antuono's presidency was marked by significant growth for Volt Europa across the continent, with the party's full-time staff increasing from 3 to 13, peaking at over 20 during the European election campaign. During her leadership, D’Antuono also focused on establishing new national chapters and strengthening smaller ones, particularly in Southern and Eastern Europe:

In Cyprus, where Volt is the only party on the island that includes both Greek and Turkish community members in its leadership and founding committee.[10]; In Greece, where Volt elected one of Athens' deputy mayors (Olga Dorou) just one year after its founding.[11]; In Slovakia.[12][13]; In Romania, where Volt elected councilors in two local administrations during the 2024 municipal elections, securing over 20% of the votes.[14]


Political Positions

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Francesca Romanda d'Antuono's political vision aligns with progressivism, social democracy, and environmentalism.

Immigration

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D'Antuono's views on immigration are among the most progressive in the political spectrum. In her statements, she points to the requirement that asylum policies are based on international treaties and, most importantly, on respect for human dignity.[15] D'Antuono has strongly criticized both European and Italian asylum and migration policies, advocating for a continent-wide harmonization of asylum procedures, reestablishing an official Search and Rescue system not delegated to NGOs, and increasing EU resources for reception and integration.[16]

In November 2024, D'Antuono visited the asylum seekers’ center in Gjader, Albania, together with MEPs from Volt Europa and a delegation of Italian and Albanian Volt members. This center was strongly promoted by the Giorgia Meloni government but has been criticized for its state of semi-abandonment, which D’Antuono commented on the press. [17] [18]

The visit to the detention center in Albania also served as an opportunity for D’Antuono to protest, alongside the Network Against Migrant Detention, of which she is a member, against current Italian and European migration policies.

Economic Inequalities

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The fight against economic inequalities is one of D’Antuono’s core themes. She has often criticized center-left parties for their general lack of support to these issues, which she argues is the main reason for their declining support among working-class voters. [19]

For D’Antuono, reducing inequalities starts with a profound revision of the taxation system. Her goal is to enhance fiscal justice by making taxation genuinely progressive and reducing opportunities for evasion. In line with Volt's Europeanist approach, D’Antuono advocates for accelerating European unity to end the “race to the bottom” that benefits large multinationals. She proposes tax harmonization, imposing a minimum effective tax rate, creating a European Ministry of Finance to facilitate mandatory automatic information exchange among EU Member States, and implementing a central wealth registry by merging data from national sources. [20]

Broadening her perspective, D’Antuono also supports the establishment of a universal European minimum wage as a key measure to reduce poverty and economic disparities. [21]

D’Antuono has also been particularly critical of the Meloni government regarding its lack of commitment to fighting poverty and inequalities. [22]

She frequently emphasizes the strong link between social justice and climate justice, highlighting their intrinsic connection. [23]

European Democracy

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In line with Volt Europa's pan-Europeanism, D’Antuono advocates for a radical revision of European institutions to develop a true European democracy capable of decisively addressing global challenges. [24]

D’Antuono has also spoken out about the structural rigidity of the Italian political system toward new political entities, especially compared to other European countries like Germany and the Netherlands. She argues that the combination of laws and regulations governing political participation in Italy creates a system favoring personality-driven parties with substantial financial resources. [25]

To address this, D’Antuono supports the proposal for a European electoral law to standardize the regulations for European elections across all EU countries. Under this proposal, citizens would vote not only for their national candidates but also for transnational lists. The plan includes lowering the voting age to 16 and mandating gender alternation in electoral lists. [26]

Fighting Climate Change

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D’Antuono has taken a firm stance on climate change, demanding more effective and radical action from politicians and governments. [27]

She aligns with the positions of major climate activism groups like Extinction Rebellion and Fridays for Future. Specifically, D’Antuono has expressed strong support for climate activism and has defended activists in the media. [28]

While engaged on the issue institutionally, D’Antuono sympathizes with activist movements, including those employing civil disobedience that has sparked wide media and public debate. [29]

Other Topics

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Regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine, D’Antuono has aligned with Volt Europa’s position, advocating strong and clear support for Ukraine and an acceleration of its EU accession process. [30]

On the recent escalation of the Arab-Israeli conflict, D’Antuono has called for an immediate ceasefire, recognized signs of potential genocide in Gaza, and stressed the importance of a united and strong European Union in foreign policy. [31]

References

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  1. ^ "Francesca Romana D'Antuono, Autore a Tutti Europa ventitrenta". Tutti Europa ventitrenta (in Italian). Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  2. ^ "Primo compleanno Volt Firenze: evento "al femminile"". gonews.it (in Italian). 4 September 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  3. ^ Lusa (17 October 2021). "Eurodeputado Francisco Guerreiro (ex-PAN) vai filiar-se no Volt". Correio da Manhã (in Portuguese). Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  4. ^ "Il movimento politico paneuropeo presenta i suoi co-presidenti a livello Europa e Italia nell'evento presso la Sala Consiliare Nunes". politicamentecorretto.com. 17 December 2021. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  5. ^ "Volt sbarca in Campania". Corriere Nazionale. 17 December 2021. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  6. ^ "Volt Europa Unveils Bold Vision for Europe and Elects New Leadership". Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  7. ^ "Where we are campaigning". Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  8. ^ "Volt elects European lead candidates and transnational list". Retrieved 24 November 2024.
  9. ^ "Volt gets 5 pan-European MEPs elected". Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  10. ^ "Volt – Οι στόχοι, οι παρουσίες και οι ευρωεκλογές". Kathimerini. 26 October 2023. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
  11. ^ "Δήμος Αθηναίων: Οι αντιδήμαρχοι και σύμβουλοι του Χάρη Δούκα". 13 December 2023. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
  12. ^ "O hlasy slovenského voličstva v eurovoľbách sa bude uchádzať európska strana".
  13. ^ "Founding General Assembly of Volt Slovakia in Bratislava".
  14. ^ "Volt Europa on LinkedIn: Romania is another Volt success story! 🇷🇴💜 Last month, in June…". Retrieved 7 December 2024.
  15. ^ "The EU lacks political will to give asylum seekers decent refuge". EU Observer. 12 June 2023. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
  16. ^ "5 idee per il prossimo parlamento europeo. #2 Politica migratoria". Face Magazine (in Italian). 4 February 2024. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
  17. ^ "Albania Project Frozen: Seven Italians Remain". Il Manifesto. 22 November 2024. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
  18. ^ "The staff managing migrant centers in Albania is leaving". Il Post. 23 November 2024. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
  19. ^ "The flight of the working class". Politica. 4 November 2024. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
  20. ^ "5 Ideas for the Next European Parliament: #1 Fiscal Justice". Face Magazine. 3 January 2024. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  21. ^ "European minimum wage: A missed opportunity for Italy". Politica. 18 November 2024. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
  22. ^ "Meloni's Useless Budget Lacks Global Perspective". Linkiesta.it. 6 January 2023. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
  23. ^ "When will we start taking climate change seriously?". 21 October 2024. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
  24. ^ "Shadows and Lights of Draghi's Report on EU Competitiveness". 23 September 2024. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
  25. ^ "Volt's Pan-European Experience Shows Italy is Not a Country for Young Parties". Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  26. ^ "D'Antuono (Volt) to TPI: "European elections? We need an electoral reform"". 19 April 2024. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  27. ^ "When will we start taking climate change seriously?". Politica. 11 October 2024. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
  28. ^ "Only Street Activists Can Defeat Climate Denialism". 20 August 2023. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
  29. ^ "Radicals or Moderates? A General Revolution is Needed for the Climate". Domani. 23 January 2023. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
  30. ^ "The EU Must Help Ukraine Survive". Linkiesta. 11 May 2024. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
  31. ^ "Gaza: Hypocrisy Written into the West's Response". Politico.eu. 29 May 2024. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
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