The leaders of Italy, France, and Germany have vowed to boost joint European security efforts in the wake of Islamic extremist attacks.
Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and French President Francois Hollande also promised new economic prospects to young people.
The three leaders traveled to the Italian island of Ventotene on August 22 to pay tribute to one of the founding fathers of European unity, Altiero Spinelli. They were making a symbolic bid to relaunch the European Union after Britain’s vote to leave.
Spinelli was confined to Ventotene in the 1940s by Italy's fascist rulers. He co-wrote the "Ventotene Manifesto" calling for a federation of European states to counter the nationalism that had led Europe to war.
Renzi, Merkel and Hollande all voiced support for improved internal and external defense measures, including better intelligence-sharing and beefed-up border defenses.