The European Union has been advised to "abandon the status quo" if top Eurocrats want the bloc to survive the threat of growing support for anti-EU populist parties. Eurosceptic French politician Marine Le Pen last week announced plans to bring together Lega leader Matteo Salvini and Brexit Party head Nigel Farage to conduct a joint effort to overhaul the European Union from the inside. Former Italian European Affairs minister Sandro Gozi warned EU leaders they could put the bloc at risk if they fail to agree to a large programme of reforms.
Speaking to Bloomberg, Mr Gozi said: "The best way to attack the populists, the best way to win the battle against the populists, is to get out of the status quo.
"We need to develop new protections, physical protections, military protections, social protections because people fear the effects of globalisation.
"The only actor that can provide this security and this protection is the renewed Europe. These are the two matters around which we must work and around which we can beat the nationalists."
Mr Gozi, who last month was announced as a candidate under Emmanuel Macron's manifesto for the European parliamentary elections, insisted Brussels should renounce the "reluctance" toward reform and "fully embrace" plans for further integration.
READ MORE: European elections POLL: Who will you vote for in the EU elections? VOTE HERE
