Artists say that the second album is always the hardest. The same can be said for Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s second European Council in Brussels. Even before landing in the Belgian capital, the President understood that the weather was bad. Italy is actually on the opposite side of the Franco-German alliance, both in terms of immigrants and in the economic case. Aside from starting the meeting at a disadvantage on the two main topics of the meeting, Meloni had to deal with the exclusion of Volodymyr Zelensky from the table where Italy faced direct confrontation in the past few hours, on the occasion of his first EU trip since then. the beginning of the war.
Conflict with Macron
Footage of the Ukrainian president’s visit to the Elysée Palace, which was welcomed by Emmanuel Macron and Olaf Scholz, doesn’t seem to have greeted the Prime Minister well, who slapped the journalists yesterday. “Yesterday Zelensky’s invitation seemed inappropriate to me because I believe that our strength in this matter is unity and solidarity,” the prime minister said.
“I understand the domestic political issue, the fact that one prioritizes one’s own domestic political views – he added, citing Macron’s behavior – but there are moments when prioritizing one’s internal political views risks going to the detriment of the case, and that seems to me to be one of those situations.” Meloni’s failure to be invited and her frantic response brought to mind images of Mario Draghi’s train journey to Kiev, accompanied by Macron and Scholz. Italy, France and Germany united to face the difficult problem of war at the gates of Europe, a union that no longer exists today. The fact that Italy seems to have lost its central role on the European stage can also be seen from the day of meetings in Brussels.
Nothing double with Zelensky
Palazzo Chigi predicted on the eve of the Brussels summit that Meloni would meet Zelensky for a bilateral meeting during the Ukrainian leader’s participation at the Brussels summit table, this is truly a historic moment. But due to the accumulated delays during the day, according to diplomatic sources, yesterday the Italian prime minister had to hold a joint meeting with the leaders of Spain, Poland, Romania, the Netherlands and Sweden. by images Published by the Council of Europe. At the end of the meeting, however, Meloni had the opportunity to have a brief face-to-face talk with Zelensky, albeit impromptu at the moment.
No ‘rescue en’
Overall, the diplomatic clashes between Meloni and Macron contribute to an absolutely unshakable atmosphere between the governments involved. Economy minister Giancarlo Giorgetti criticized his Paris and Berlin counterparts for traveling to Washington without notifying Italy earlier this week. The Franco-Germans dealt directly with the White House on subsidies to the stars and stripes industry. The doubt is that other EU countries have been overtaken by the Eurozone’s two main economies, which speak directly to the US government about the implications of the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and how to avoid its repercussions on the European economy.
The EU’s response to this plan, which was originally supposed to coincide with the European Sovereignty Fund (a kind of ‘Rescue bis’), gave the green light to state aid, as requested by Paris and Berlin. While any Joint Funds hypothesis has been put off until the summer, leaders today may agree to monitor the effects of state aid on various EU economies, possibly to establish a compensation mechanism. This was not exactly what the Italian government, with its small margin of spending and hoping to obtain further subsidies or loans from Brussels, hoped to achieve.
Immigration File
Then there is the last issue, which is more important for the Italian government, namely the issue of immigrants. Beginning with the introduction of a code of conduct for NGOs operating in the Mediterranean, based on the Italian example, Meloni focused heavily on the debate at the Council of Europe to open up the issues closest to her heart. However, Germany seems unwilling to accept any hypothesis that could further constrain NGOs’ ability to save lives at sea and thus protect the human rights of migrants. The EU discussion focused above all on requests from some countries to finance the construction of walls or border barriers with EU funds, starting with Bulgaria and Austria. It is a theme that supports Italy, but will not openly support it until our country receives assurances about what it describes as the “peculiarity” of the European border.
Source: Today IT
Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.
