Sandro Gozi

Sandro Gozi is an Italian politician and Member of the Parliament of Italy. He was elected to the Italian Chamber of Deputies, the lower chamber of Parliament, in 2006, as a representative of the Democratic Party.

Gozi holds a doctoral degree in public law from the University of Bologna. He is fluent in English and French.

Between 1995 and 1996, Gozi worked in Italy's diplomatic service. He subsequently was an official of the European Commission for almost a decade, from 1996-2005, first dealing with relations with the European Parliament and then with the Western Balkans and the Mediterranean. From 2000 to 2005 he worked in the private office of Romano Prodi, the president of the Commission at the time, and in the Bureau of European Policy Advisers (BEPA) at the start of the first José Manuel Barroso administration.

When he returned to Italy in 2005, Gozi initially worked as diplomatic adviser to Nichi Vendola, President of the Italian region of Apulia.

Member of the Italian Parliament, 2006–present

A member of the national parliament since the 2006 elections, Gozi again advised Prodi – who in the meantime had become Italy’s prime minister – on European politics until 2008 and later served as chairman of the parliament’s Committee on Schengen, Europol and Immigration Affairs. Between 2008 and 2013, he was the group leader of the Democratic Party on the Committee on European Affairs, and he was in charge at national level of EU policies for the Democratic Party.

From 2013 to 2015, Gozi was also a member of Italy’s delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. During that time, he served as one of the assembly’s vice-presidents.

In 2010, Gozi launched a campaign to galvanize domestic support to secure the appointment of Mario Draghi, the governor of the Bank of Italy, as the next President of the European Central Bank.

In 2014, Gozi was appointed as Under-Secretary for European Affairs in the office of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.

Gozi has in the past taught at various European universities, including the College of Europe in Bruges (in 2001). Other posts include:

• European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), Member
• Italy-India Association, President
• Spinelli Group, Member of the Steering Group

• Toby Vogel (September 18, 2014), Sandro Gozi – accidental minister European Voice.

In 2014, Gozi and the French Secretary of State for European Affairs Harlem Désir set out a list of priorities after talks in Paris, saying the European Commission should adopt more growth-friendly economic policies and grant maximum flexibility within existing EU budget rules to countries undertaking growth-promoting investments and structural economic reforms.

In 2015, Gozi called for a two-speed Europe that would let countries which desired closer integration forge ahead. A year later, he said Italy also wanted a single economy minister for the eurozone answerable to elected politicians not the unelected European Commission.