France will work “with good will” with whoever is the future Italian prime minister, President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday, after post-fascist leader Giorgia Meloni called comments by one of her ministers inappropriate.
“Whoever President (Sergio) Mattarella appoints (…) France will work with good will, a requirement to advance the European project in which we believe,” Emmanuel Macron launched, at the end of a European summit in Prague.
“We take the leaders that the peoples of each country give us and our duty is, around the table, to move Europe forward, in the fairest and most effective way (…) respecting all our principles, all our objectives, all our ambition added the Head of State.
Fears of seeing civil rights roll back
Giorgia Meloni denounced this Friday an “unacceptable threat” after the declarations of the French minister Laurence Boone affirming that Paris would be “very attentive” to respect for the rule of law in Italy.
Giorgia Meloni’s coalition has an absolute majority in both the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate.
With the rise to power of parties defending “family and traditional values,” civil rights activists fear a significant rollback of rights, from abortion to same-sex marriage.
Emmanuel Macron greets Mario Draghi
President Macron, for his part, wove laurels to the outgoing Italian prime minister and former president of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi. “I want to say how happy I am every day to collaborate with my friend Mario Draghi”, he underlined.
“There was never a day that we did not learn from each other, at least I did not learn from him more modestly, and that we were not happy to work together,” said the Head of State.
“I owe him a lot and I think it’s a great opportunity for Italy and Europe that he’s in charge these years.”
Source: BFM TV
