Washington, D.C. and Rome make what could be described as a historic “power couple.” Throughout world history, some of the most significant events have happened in these two cities. Moreover, both capitols are beacons of culture and diplomacy for their respective nations.

Nicolas Sarkozy and Silvio Berlusconi issued a joint statement calling on the European Commission to “examine the possibility of temporarily establishing internal border controls in the case of exceptional difficulties" in response to an influx of migrants from North Africa. This would be a fairly major adjustment to one of the EU's signature achievements, the Schengen Agreement, which grants free passage accross borders within the union.

On Friday we had a stimulating debate in İstanbul on how to better promote Turkish-Italian ties by giving a positive boost to mutual perceptions that were often tainted by misconceptions, stereotypes or even prejudice stemming from lack of knowledge.

The European Union awaits "strong and clear" action from Tunisia to help stem the flow of migrants fleeing the country, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said on Tuesday.

McHale calls the Marshall Plan "the greatest example in our nation's history of Public Diplomacy done right." Food was what got the Marshall Plan started, in the form of an interim aid program in 1947-1948, and this is where public diplomacy came in.

Over 10 days in February, the island of Lampedusa saw its biggest arrival of undocumented immigrants from nearby North Africa. Six thousand young Tunisian men and a handful of women, packed into fishing boats with as many as 200 aboard, made the perilous journey across 70 miles of open ocean to the southernmost Italian outpost.

The European Union failed to agree on a statement against the persecution of religious minorities on Monday after Italy objected to the omission of any reference to the protection of Christians.

In early March, celebrations dedicated to the Russian Maslenitsa Festival, or the Pancake Week, will be held in the city of Rome as part of the Russia-Italy cross-cultural exchange year. The traditional farewell-to-winter carnival will take place under the auspices of the governments of St. Petersburg and Rome.