The Prime Minister of Italy celebrates the “frank” and “positive” dialogue with the presidents of the European Commission, European Parliament and European Council
The leader of the Brothers of Italy opens the door to collaboration while claiming her country’s role in European construction: “Italy’s voice in Europe will be strong”
“Italy’s voice in Europe will be strong: we are ready to tackle the big problems, starting with the energy crisis, collaborating to find a solution to support families and businesses and curb speculation.” With this declaration of intent, the new Prime Minister of Italy and leader of the far-right Brothers of Italy party, Giorgia Meloniin Brussels where it was launched with working meetings with the presidents of the European institutions: Roberta Metzola (European Parliament), Ursula von der Leyen (European Commission) and Charles Michael (European Council).
“It seems to me that a very frank and positive dialogue has been created. I am happy with how this day has gone in which I have presented the Italian point of view before the great questions that we face”, Meloni has summed up with conciliatory tone at the end of a day that started with an informal lunch with the Italian commissioner Paolo Gentiloni and a first meeting at the headquarters of the European Parliament with its president. “I am happy with the climate that I have found in Brussels. Probably speaking directly with people can help dismantle the narrative that I had built about the Italian government. We are not Martians, we are people of flesh and blood“, he added after the meeting with Von der Leyen and before his work dinner with Michel.
“Thank you Giorgia Meloni for the strong signal sent by your visit to the institutions on your first trip abroad. It was a good opportunity to exchange on critical issues ranging from support for Ukraine, energy to the Next Generation EU program and immigration. “, has valued the president of the Commission. The choice of the community capital as the destination of his first official trip abroad is seen in Brussels as a sign of goodwill in the face of the alarm unleashed by his election and the three European institutions have rolled out the red carpet -in addition to many knowing smiles and handshakes – to receive the new head of government of the third largest economy in the Eurozone.
political continuity
The institutional visit also confirms that Meloni aspires to play the card of the continuity and to continue occupying the same political space that his predecessor occupied in office, mario draghi, in European decision-making. Time will tell if Meloni will also become a regular in the photographs of the dome of European leaders, with the president of France, Emmanuel Macronand the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, like the one carried out on a train to kyiv in the middle of last June by Draghi. “Italy can participate, collaborate, defend the national interest within the European dimension, bringing it closer to that of other countries”, assured Meloni.
For now, the meetings this Thursday have allowed the European institutions to begin to test the terrain on what the relationship with Meloni will be like, who in recent months has softened his anti-European rhetoric to offer a more moderate image, and see how he breathes before the major issues that dominate the European agenda, from the Russian war in Ukraineuntil the fight against climate changethe energy crisisthe elevated energy prices and inflation or more thorny issues such as immigration policy or the application of national recovery and resilience plan which will leave 190,000 million in Italy.
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“Italy has always had a central role in the EU. More than ever, with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, skyrocketing energy prices and rising inflation, we must stick together. We are stronger together” Metsola, for his part, recalled that he had invited Meloni to intervene before the plenary session of the European Parliament. The meeting between the two leaders, mainly in Italian but also in English, had two parts. An informal first, with a twenty-minute bilateral meeting in Metsola’s private office, followed by a 45-minute work session extended to the respective teams.
“We are fully aligned on Ukraine. We will continue to be firm on sanctions and we are united in reaffirming our support for Ukraine,” Metsola said. Regarding energy and inflation, “citizens need us now and we have to act now. I am aware that the Member States have different realities but we have to have the courage and the political will to act as we did during the pandemic: uniting our forces”, he added about a meeting that his team described as “good” and “constructive”. “I am very happy to have chosen to come here for my first international visit, in Brussels, and in particular to Parliament. It is a clear position that Italy has chosen to follow”, said Meloni.