Charles Michel – Meloni meeting: They discussed the economy and immigration

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The President of the European Council and the Italian Prime Minister met in preparation for the next Summit

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni met in Rome with its president European Council Charles Michel. In a statement to the press after the end of the conversation, the Italian Prime Minister emphasized:

“It was a preparatory meeting of the next European summit. The presence of President Michel in Rome shows his interest in the Italian position. The main topics we discussed were economic and immigration. In the next session, regarding the first topic, the strengthening of the competitiveness of European industries will be discussed. We believe that it takes courage, vision and a level playing field for all member states. The tools so far must be simplified with flexibility and in terms of European funds”.

“We must invest in the future, but no one should be left behind. As far as the relaxation of the State aid regulation is concerned, caution is needed. We want a European fund to protect investments. It’s not something immediate, but we have to go in that direction,” Meloni added.

At the same time, he emphasized that “for immigration, European solutions are needed”. Referring to the same issue, the head of the Italian government underlined:

“I am glad that there is an awareness that permanent solutions are needed, starting with the protection of the external borders. This issue is linked to the security of our society and those of the whole of Europe, we cannot manage it alone. At the end of November, the European Commission recognized the priority of the issue of flows in the central Mediterranean and the special importance of European maritime borders. We should not be divided on this issue because that would be a favor to the traffickers. We must prevent illegal flows by limiting them. We talk and make efforts with the countries of transit and origin of migrants, repatriations must be strengthened. The moment is difficult and substantial and quick answers are needed.”

THE Italian prime ministerfinally, he underlined that at the next summit, “European cohesion in support of Kyiv” will be emphasized again.

For his part, the president of the European Council, Charles Michel, said that “the strong card of the European Union is the internal market”, which “must be defended”. At the same time, he referred to four “key points” for the economy:

The first is the need for the EU to deal with state aid in order to be more effective in supporting industry. The second, that all countries should be able to have the same means to cope with the difficulties thanks to national and European means. The third, solidarity, with the Sure program as the main tool and the fourth, for the Union to work towards a European sovereign fund, in order to help key sectors of the European internal market.

Regarding immigration, Charles Michel added:

“We found a large increase in irregular migration flows. Today’s discussion helped us. We must support the defense of Europe’s external borders and, of course, Italy. We need to work with third countries, especially in Africa, countries of origin and transit of migrants, especially Tunisia and Libya. At the same time, repatriations are not enough, while we should continue the discussion with the member countries about the consequences of immigration”.

The president of the European Council “after 100 days of responsibility for the government of Rome, he wanted to wish it a good job”, as he characteristically said. “In the last months we have had a clear and honest cooperation. When Italy feels good, Europe feels good too, thank you,” concluded Michel.

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