Sanchez meets Meloni: “Reform of the electricity market urgently, we count on Italy’s support”

The Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sanchez, met Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at Palazzo Chigi. “There is a lot of convergence between Italy and Spain: a particularly important relationship in view of the Spanish presidency of the European Council. There is a need for Europe to give effective and immediate responses”, said the Prime Minister.

Italy-Spain harmony

“This report becomes particularly important at a time when Spain is preparing to assume the rotating presidency of the European Council and I think it was particularly important for us, through this meeting, to state the state of the art on the harmony between our nations on the need for Europe in such a delicate phase should give effective and immediate answers on some matters” continued Meloni.

“We are both very interested in further strengthening our strategic partnership, which has given us great satisfaction in these years of relations. I think we can do even better in the exchange of strategic sectors” such as energy and culture, added the premier.

Italian companies in Spain

“The spotlight must also be turned on the fact that there are Italian companies that continue to have space in Spain, to win important tenders. I am thinking of the one concerning high speed, on which there is a very important Italian footprint with our Frecciarossa This shows that in Spanish society the ability of our companies is always well regarded, and the same is true for our Spanish friends”, the premier remarked again.

United on Ukraine

“The Spanish government, like the Italian one, supports the government of Ukraine on a military, economic, but also humanitarian level,” Sanchez said. “There are more than 170 thousand Ukrainian refugees who already live in Spain which is geographically very far from Ukraine. And it is a figure that is increasing and this gives us a clear idea of ​​the humanitarian challenge we have to face following this war”, he added the Spanish prime minister. Together Italy and Spain make their societies “stronger and Europe will be stronger. This is what you will find in the Spanish government and what Italy will always find in Spanish society, a society that loves Italy, who admires and respects her and who wants to establish the best possible relations with the Italian government”.

The reform of the electricity market

“One of the main commitments on which we will spend” during the Spanish presidency of the EU, “with the support of Italy, is the promotion of the urgent reform of the electricity market”, continued Sanchez. “Competitiveness today lies in having affordable energy prices and these prices, in Italy and Spain, are not acceptable”, “we cannot pay caviar prices for energy, which with renewables would cost us much less” , “we must reform how the price of energy is established in Europe, because not only are our families damaged”, but “there is a serious threat of a deindustrialization of the EU”, added the prime minister.

Migrants

Finally, the issue of migrants: “It was important for some countries to recognize that irregular immigration is a European problem, which requires a European response. And a European response – explained Sanchez – requires a political agreement and economic resources Spain and Italy agree that we should talk less about the internal dimension of immigration and more about the external dimension, of cooperation with countries of origin and transit”.

Disputes for Sanchez

At the end of the meeting at Palazzo Chigi, a group of about thirty Spanish university students challenged the Spanish premier Pedro Sanchez outside Palazzo Chigi. “Fuera, fuera”, the slogan shouted at the address of the car in which Sanchez was travelling.