(Finance) – “Italy and France are two linked nations, central and protagonists in the EU, which need, particularly at a time like this, to dialogue because our common interests are many and converging”. These are the words of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in press statements at the Elysee along with French President Emmanuel Macron before bilateral. A face-to-face that lasted about an hour and 40 minutes which marks Meloni’s first visit to France since he has been prime minister. On the occasion of the participation of the Italian premier in the assembly of the Bureau international des expositions – where the four candidate cities to host Expo 2030 will try to convince the delegates to give them their vote in November – the diplomacies have prepared the ground for a bilateral which takes on a symbolic value, in the hope of a change in Italy-France relations, which were rather stormy in the first months of the centre-right government.
“During the meeting between French President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, convergences were created to grow together and be stronger in the face of common challenges, including the migration issue” they say sources of Elysium, at the end of the bilateral talks between Meloni and Macron at the Elysée.
“A new beginning in relations with Macron? The personal relations between Macron and I, every time we have met, have always been very content-oriented. Then the external controversy clearly emerges more but, as I have said many times, I reiterate that I am matters more proper to domestic politics than to foreign politics.It all lies in the things – he commented Melons in a press point in Paris, after the meeting –. After that – she continued, addressing the journalists – I think you have heard the words of President Macron on the subject of immigration, it seems to me that the position that Italy has requested, namely that concentrating on the external dimension is the only way to face the internal dimension, it seems to me to be a convergent point of view. So I wouldn’t read foreign policy as a relationship between kids arguing and making up. The interests between nations come first and it seems to me there are common interests between Italy and France, historically and geographically”.
Between hot topics at the center of the comparison there are the migrant file and the Treaty of the Quirinal but also there Bornahead of the Vilnius summit in July, which will also have to address the controversial issue of the entry of theUkraine, another issue on which alignment is not currently under discussion.
“Between France and Italy – he said Melons in the press point before the bilateral – there are convergences on the issues of the Mediterranean and Ukraine. We have met – he added – on the sidelines of various international summits in recent months, we have already had the opportunity to discuss the main issues, both of the bilateral relationship and of global current affairs, but clearly today’s meeting can allow us to review the most important times, to understand how to strengthen our common dialogue for the benefit of our respective national interests, of Europe and for the benefit of tackling the great challenges we face. In the coming weeks, we will be called upon to take decisions which will inevitably have important consequences for the future of Europe, for transatlantic relations, for the international projection of our continent and it is essential that Rome and Paris work together on a bilateral and multilateral level, in the European Union, in the Born and in the G7, which Italy will preside over next year and which will be strategic for us in terms of relations with the Mediterranean, with our global partners”.
Evoking the signing of the Quirinale Treaty which “seals the friendship” between France and Italy, Macron, during the joint declaration with Giorgia Meloni, paid homage to “the ties between our societies, our economies, our universities, our artists, which bring to life this unique relationship that exists between Italy and France every day It is this friendship that interests me first of all, Madam Prime Minister, the one that sometimes allows disputes and disagreements to be brought to life, but always in a respectful context because it is part of a history that is greater and more profound than us. Europeans and allies, – continued Macron – it is our common responsibility to continue to stand together to support the Ukrainians on an economic, humanitarian, but also military level. Addressing the Italian prime minister, Macron added: “I want to thank you for the great clarity of his commitment, his support, and our cooperation on the matter”. “There is no doubt that Italy and France will continue to support the Ukrainian cause at 360 degrees – Meloni reiterated -. If we didn’t, we’d find a much more chaotic world. What the Ukrainians are doing is also defending our freedom”, continued Meloni, saying she was “proud to be able to announce together with Macron” that the Franco-Italian Samp-T anti-aircraft shield is now “operational” in Ukraine. “The system of Samp-T air defense – he added Melons – is one of the many examples of what we can do together and I trust that starting from today’s dialogue we will do it even better and even more in the future”.
“An important European council awaits us at the end of this month: we agree that concrete steps must be taken with respect to a vision of the defense of the external dimension: the diatribe between primary and secondary movements must be overcome”, said the premier regarding the migrant issue emphasizing that in this key the “partnership with the Mediterranean, not just North Africa, is central”. “We cannot – he added – continue to allow the slavery of the third millennium, that the selection at the entrance is made by the networks of criminals. For this we need to collaborate and find alternatives for legal migration and to guarantee the right not to emigrate. Up we work together.” Macron invoked the need to strengthen the common European Union policy on migration. “We continue to see drama in the Mediterranean, we need to organize ourselves better in matters of asylum and immigration to avoid new dramas”, declared Macron, also evoking the need to strengthen “the control of our external borders”. An issue that Italy, placed at the forefront, “knows well”. Macron also underlined the need to strengthen “the control of our external borders” on the migration issue.