Giorgia Meloni, at the Chamber of Deputies for Communications ahead of the European Council on 19 December, when leaders will meet in Brussels to discuss Ukraine, the European Union in the world, the Middle East, resilience and preparedness, migration and foreign policy issues.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was invited to travel to Brussels for the meeting. The leaders will discuss Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine in all its dimensions, including the latest developments on the ground, as well as the comprehensive support the EU continues to provide to Ukraine and its people. So far the EU and its member states have provided Ukraine with support for almost 124 billion euros.
“The next European Council will in fact be the first of this new European legislaturethe first chaired by the new president Antonio Costa who expressed to me and the other heads of state and government his desire to make the work more streamlined and concrete, avoiding delving into conclusions on matters of detail. It is an approach that I have shared a lot, today more than ever in the face of new and more complex challenges there is the risk of marginalization if not irrelevance of Europe, there is a need to focus” Meloni said.
EU vice-presidency to Raffaele Fitto
The executive vice-presidency of the EU Commission goes to Raffaele Fitto “it is not just an honorific title but a concrete tool that will allow us to supervise and coordinate strategic sectors such as agriculture, fishing, maritime economy, social housing: Italian sensitivity it can contribute to a pragmatic approach that goes beyond the ideological and dogmatic one” of recent years, said Meloni. “This will also be the first Council after the installation of the commissioners, the last time we still had to go through the parliamentary confirmation process, which is not simple nor immune from even harsh political controversies but I feel I can proudly say mission accomplished”. This was stated by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in communications to the Chamber in view of the European Council. Fitto is “a politician of esteemed value in Italy and Europe” and “we can recognize how the role is appropriate to the weight of our nation in Europe, confirming the centrality of Italy”.
“Although there are still those who, regardless of reality, continued to repeat the mantra of alleged international isolation of Italy, the facts demonstrate the exact opposite“. We must “bring home too many brain drains, to whom we must give a new rewarding dream in patria”https://gazzettadelsud.it/articoli/politica/2024/12/17/ucraina-migranti-politica-estera-e-ruolo-di-fitto-meloni-alla-camera-prima-del-consiglio-ue- ec784581-6b07-43e6-bc50-692e938066dc/.”The time has come to actually recognize progress made” by the Western Balkan countries “and reward their efforts”.
“The EU should take a pragmatic approach to Trump”
“It is essential to maintain a pragmatic, constructive and open approach with the new Trump administration, exploiting areas of potential and fruitful EU-US cooperation and trying to prevent trade disputes that certainly would not do anyone any good.”
The situation in Syria
“The fall of the Assad regime is good news, rightly celebrated by the Syrian population after more than a decade of civil war. The rebel forces that have established themselves are heterogeneous, have different backgrounds and potentially conflicting interests. There is obviously concern about the future of the nation. Italy, the only one of the G7 nations to have an open embassy in Damascus, is ready to speak with the new Syrian leadership, obviously in a context of evaluations and actions shared with European partners and international”. added Meloni. “The first signs seem encouraging but the utmost caution is needed: words must be followed by deeds and we will judge the new Syrian authorities on the facts. The decisive element will be the attitude towards ethnic and religious minorities. I am thinking of the Christians, who have already paid a very high price , too often the object of persecution”.
The war in Ukraine
The “50 billion dollar” credit line is “a loan that will soon be disbursed and will be guaranteed by Russian assets tied up in European extremely complex job that led to an extremely important result, a success of the Italian presidency of the G7″ said the prime minister.
Lebanon
“Allow me to express my heartfelt thanks to the women and men of our armed forces in Lebanon who remained at their posts with courage and a sense of duty in the service of the nation and peace.” Prime Minister Meloni then recalled the Italian government’s desire not to withdraw the soldiers of the Unifil mission because it was “aware that they would be necessary”.
Migrants
“We consider a revision of the return directive to be urgent and of the concept of a safe country just as we consider it important to anticipate as much as possible what is foreseen by the new Immigration and Asylum Pact also in order to provide definitive clarity on a topic that has been the subject of recent judicial measures with an ideological flavor that if they were confirmed in their underlying philosophy of the EU Court of Justice would risk compromising the repatriation policies of all member states at least until the new EU rules come into force in 2026, a worrying and unacceptable prospect that must be prevented with determination”.
EU Defense Bonds
“It is vital to progress quickly on the path to open strategic autonomy, to seek innovative solutions to ensure adequate funds for the necessary investments, for example by starting a concrete dialogue on the possibility of issuing European bonds for defense investments, while continuing to push for the exclusion of investments on the defense against the calculation of the deficit/GDP ratio in the Stability Pact”. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said this in her communications to the Chamber in view of the European Council.
“A European pillar in NATO”
“A Europe that claims to be stronger and more autonomous cannot ignore the common commitment to strengthen its defense by finally building an EU pillar of NATO, to be placed alongside the American one with equal weight and equal dignity”. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said this in her communications to the Chamber in view of the European Council. “Our commitment to the Atlantic Alliance remains the cornerstone of our security but certainly – he added – Europe must aim to have a greater role within it”.
“Italy is not willing to give up civil protection”
“Italy is more than interested in contributing to the debate on the future role of Europe as a crisis manager and starting not so much from legislative proposals that would be premature but from the need to maximize national and European efforts in line with the principle of subsidiarity: Italy is not willing to give up national excellence in civil protection but we can share our experience and our know-how with our partners” underlined Meloni.