Constructive tone away from controversy. For her first visit to Brussels, the new far-right Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, opted this Thursday for a calm tone with the leaders of the European Union, insisting on “positive” exchanges and remaining measured on points of friction such as immigration.
“I am happy with the climate that I found in Brussels,” said the sovereignist leader, 45, after her successive meetings with Roberta Metsola, president of the European Parliament, Ursula von der Leyen, president of the Commission, and Charles Michel, President of board.
“From a personal, human point of view, a very frank and very positive exchange has been created,” added the first female head of government in Italy, heading the most right-wing government since the postwar period.
Caution on the Von der Leyen side
The one that leads the third largest economy in the euro zone has been determined to focus on the delicate issue of rising energy prices, a fight already started by its predecessor Mario Draghi who had asked for a solution from the Twenty-seven and lambasted the individualism approach taken by Berlin.
Same conciliatory tone on the part of Ursula von der Leyen, who mentioned the “strong signal” sent by this visit. “It was a good opportunity to discuss crucial issues,” she added, referring in particular to Ukraine, energy and the issue of migrants.
His face-to-face meeting with Von der Leyen was especially anticipated since the outcry raised in Italy by the statements of the President of the Commission, who had warned before the elections on the peninsula of the consequences to which Italy would be exposed in the case of deviation of democratic principles.
A sign of a form of caution on both sides, no joint declaration was organized at the end of these three carefully scrutinized meetings, in a context of an energy crisis that is testing the Union’s resilience.
Source: BFM TV
