BRUSSELS, Nov. 3 () –
The Prime Minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloni, assured this Monday after several hours in Brussels to meet with the heads of the European Union institutions that the new Italian Government has been heard in a series of meetings in which it has been able to ” dismantle the constructed narrative” against their mandate and demonstrate that they are not “Martians”.
“Probably, speaking directly with people can help dismantle the narrative that had been built on the undersigned and on the Italian Government. We are not Martians, we are people who defend their positions,” Meloni said about his meetings with the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen; the president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola; and the President of the European Council, Charles Michel.
In this way, the Italian president has been satisfied with the “climate” found in her round of contacts with the heads of the European institutions, with whom she assures that she has had a “frank and positive” dialogue.
In terms of migration, “the point of view of the Italian Government has changed” and sees a priority in placing emphasis on the defense of external borders, the Italian Prime Minister stressed, who has also once again suggested her intention to reconsider with Brussels the conditions of the recovery plan to access aid from the EU anti-crisis fund, something that the community services reject.
Throughout the afternoon, Meloni was received at their respective institutions by Metsola, Von der Leyen and Michel. All of them have posed next to the Italian prime minister in the protocol welcome greetings, but all of them have also avoided appearing before the press with her, who finally made a brief statement without questions to the media that were waiting for her on her arrival in dinner with Michel.
The leader of the far-right Brothers of Italy (HDI) began her institutional agenda in Brussels with a meeting of about an hour with Metsola, who defended the importance of a “united European Union” and invited the Italian president to intervene in an upcoming session plenary session, on a date yet to be defined, probably in the spring, according to what parliamentary sources told Europa Press.
The Maltese conservative and Meloni, who already knew each other previously, addressed issues such as support for Ukraine in the face of the Russian invasion and the firm commitment to sanctions, as well as other priorities of the Italian Government such as the response to the energy crisis and the rise of prices and inflation.
In this regard, the president of the European Parliament said she was aware that “the member states have different realities” but appealed to the “courage and political will” of the Twenty-seven to join forces and face the crisis as they responded to the pandemic.
Meloni explained that he chose the community capital for his first trip abroad as head of the Italian Government to make clear his willingness to “participate, collaborate and defend national interests within the European Union, seeking the best solutions together with other countries” .
The prime minister, who has also met with the Italian commissioner, the socialist Paolo Gentiloni, responsible for the economic portfolio of the Community Executive, has said that she is in Brussels to defend the ideas of her Government and explain changes in position with respect to the previous Executive of Mario Draghi, for example in migratory or economic matters.
“Thank you for the strong signal sent with your visit to the community institutions as your first trip abroad,” Von der Leyen applauded, in a message posted on his Twitter profile as the only comment after the meeting.
