Conflict in Ukraine, Stability Pact, European Stability Mechanism, migrants, naval blockade and, of course, the conflict in the Middle East. These are just some of the topics addressed during the Brussels European Council. Council with the presence of Giorgia Meloni who said she was “satisfied” with the conclusions reached on the dossier relating to the Middle East crisis. «There was a serious and mature discussion, the EU has the same priorities as Italy: doing our best to avoid an escalation, working on the humanitarian front and on a long-term structural solution, which must be imagined now, we need to be concrete about the solution of two peoples, two states”, explained the prime minister.
Meloni has repeatedly reiterated in recent weeks that the attention given to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict should not cause people to “let their guard down in supporting Ukraine”; position also reiterated yesterday during the European Council.
The community summit did not see any discussions on the European Stability Mechanism, the economic instrument that is causing so much discussion in Italy due to the government’s failure to ratify it. Meloni states that “there were no discussions” on the matter. The Prime Minister reiterated that “there is no point in anyone, even those who are great supporters of access to the MEE, raising this issue now because it is a subject that cannot be discussed in any way until we know what the picture is.” During the Summit of Euro, Eurogroup President Paschal Dono declared that work on the ESM is progressing, without mentioning Italy, the only member country that has not yet ratified the European Stability Mechanism. However, in recent days he wrote a letter addressed to the president of the European Council and the Euro Summit, Charles Michel, precisely to reiterate the importance that the ratification of the ESM by all member countries would have for the euro zone.
“Ratification of the ESM Treaty will establish common public support for the Single Resolution Fund, which represents our long-standing agreement and is in our interests for everyone, both the euro area as a whole and each Member State, including ‘Italy’ wrote Donohe.
According to Meloni, there is no point talking about the MEE while discussing the new rules of the Stability Pact, which should be concluded later this year.
Chapter Migrants. “There has been a lot of talk about the economy following the mid-term review of the multi-annual budget, two issues very dear to Italy are included in the Council’s conclusions: imagine finding a solution by the end of the year and working on a package logic”, he said Meloni. And in this package is the issue of migrants. «I must say that it is a shared priority of the European Council, everyone agrees that it focused on migration, on the issue of risks linked to terrorism, but the letter that von der Leyen sent to all States enters into the conclusions on the state of practical implementation of a strategy promoted by Italy”, reported Meloni.
On the topic of migration, the Prime Minister also wanted to respond to those who criticized her for not having fulfilled the promise, made during the election campaign, to establish naval blockades to prevent smugglers from continuing to traffic in human beings across the Mediterranean.
«When I spoke about the naval blockade, I always spoke about a European operation in agreement with the North African authorities. Because if it is done in international waters it becomes an “attraction factor”, if it is done in national waters serious work can be done”. Therefore, Meloni reiterated the importance of carrying out the “Italian strategy” which envisages having “better relations with these countries that do not always trust our approach for the reasons we know”. Because if “there is no agreement it risks becoming counterproductive, the Irini mission could be expanded but it involves a long and tiring 360-degree cooperation work”.
Once the Council was over, Meloni asked questions to journalists to whom he wanted to provide some clarification on the news that appeared in the newspapers in recent days. «I want to emphasize that I didn’t have any outbursts with Salvini, sources close to me can hardly say something that didn’t happen. I don’t understand whether certain articles are written to tell stories or to create problems,” said the prime minister. There are no problems «neither with Salvini, nor with Tajani, nor with Mediaset, the government’s relations with Mediaset are those you have with a large company». In Sgarbi, “I know that Minister Sangiuliano has contacted Antitrust, we are waiting for the answers and then we will evaluate the merits”. Meloni also responded to the controversy that arose around the rule, present in a draft Budget, about the withdrawal directly from current accounts «I would like to highlight that it is already foreseen by the Revenue, a previous government did this. We want to implement the fight against tax evasion, there is no provision that allows money to be withdrawn from current accounts”.
Source: IL Tempo
Emma Fitzgerald is an accomplished political journalist and author at The Nation View. With a background in political science and international relations, she has a deep understanding of the political landscape and the forces that shape it.
