Macron and Mattarella call for “total cooperation in all fields” after tensions between France and Italy

They reaffirm the “great importance” of bilateral relations and call for bilateral cooperation and within the EU

November 14 () –

The presidents of France and Italy, Emmanuel Macron and Sergei Mattarella, respectively, have reaffirmed this Monday the “great importance” of their bilateral relations and have opted to achieve the conditions for “total cooperation in all fields”, after the tensions between the last days between Paris and Rome in immigration matters.

The leaders held a telephone conversation early in the day in which they stressed that this “total” cooperation must take place “both bilaterally and within the European Union (EU),” according to a statement published by the Elysee and the Quirinale.

The conversation took place days after France announced the suspension of a plan to welcome 3,500 refugees who arrived in Italy after the transalpine country refused to allow the SOS Mediterranée ship ‘Ocean Viking’ to dock, with more than 200 migrants on board and which finally docked on Friday in the French port of Toulon.

In response, the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, was “very surprised” by the “aggressive reaction” of the French government and stressed that “it is not written” in any agreement “that Italy has to be the only port of disembarkation”. “When you talk about reprisals in an EU dynamic, something is off,” she lamented.