Meloni: aid to Ukraine will continue as long as necessary. Scholz: agreement with Italy on security and defence
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«We are two nations linked by a bilateral relationship that extends to almost all sectors, a partnership with a strong economic interconnection, two complementary economies. Our cooperation is essential for European solutions on complex issues in these times, I am thinking of the next European Council on Ukraine and the competitiveness of the European economic system”. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said this in Berlin, alongside German Chancellor Olaf Scholz during the bilateral Italy-Germany. “There is a strong harmony between Italy and Germany” who have worked to support “the self-defense of Kiev” and “we will continue to do so as long as necessary” added Meloni who will be in Ukraine “before 24 February”.
Scholz: migration as a European challenge
«Dear Giorgia, your visit here demonstrates that Italy and Germany are close partners in Europe and in the Atlantic Alliance» said the German chancellor who underlined how the migration challenge must be faced together in the EU: «On migration I am convinced that it is a challenge that we can only overcome in Europe together. It is important that we work towards a common asylum system based on our values of democracy and human rights, with the right balance between responsibility and solidarity,” Scholzi said. «Those who do not have the right must be able to return to their country of origin. It must also be clear that there must be legal ways to enter the EU because we need a workforce in Europe”.
On the migratory position, Meloni reiterated, there is the “need to operate to avoid the trafficking of human beings and to intercept the flows before their arrival”. «With the current crisis – he adds – we must focus on the fact that the migration issue is a question of security. Anyone who knows the dynamics of the Sahel, for example, knows that there is the presence of people who can turn this of migrants into a weapon”.
“I see an understanding in foreign and security policy,” explained Scholz. “Italy and Germany support Ukraine in defending it against Russia’s aggression and we are determined and united with the NATO states in supporting Ukraine”.
Meloni: full flexibility in the use of existing European funds is needed
In the meeting with the German Chancellor, Meloni insisted a lot on the flexibility in the use of existing European funds and, not surprisingly, the Italian delegation to the Chancellery also included Minister Raffaele Fitto, who oversees the choices and management of both the Pnrr and the cohesion policy. Meloni indicated that “in Europe it is necessary to maintain a level of competitiveness that is the same for all the member states and for us a possible solution is full flexibility on the EU funds already allocated in recent years which are already available”. The goal is “to use those resources to tackle major challenges starting with the energy challenge”. The prime minister expressly mentioned the resources of REPowerEU, the European instrument for overcoming energy dependence on Russia, the Pnrr funds and the cohesion funds of the old EU financial year 2014-2020 and the new 2021-2027.
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