Relations with EC not deteriorating says Meloni in Beijing

(ANSA) - ROME, JUL 30 - Premier Giorgia Meloni on Tuesday dismissed talk that a letter she sent to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen about the EC's 2024 Report on the Rule of Law was a sign of deteriorating relations with the EU executive.
    The letter complained about "fake news" in how the report was covered in the media in relation to what it said about press freedom in Italy.
    "I do not see any negative repercussions for Italy, I do not think that relations with the European Commission are getting worse," Meloni told Italian reporters during her official visit to Beijing.
    "The letter that I sent is not a response to the European Commission or to a moment of friction with the European Commission.
    "It is a common reflection on the manipulative use that has been made of a technical document, in which, I am obliged to recall, the critical tones are not those of the European Commission".
    MEPs from Meloni's right-wing Brothers of Italy (FdI) party voted against a second-term for European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen after the Conservative ECR group it belongs to and which Meloni chairs was left out of the negotiations for the EU top jobs.
    She has said that she does not fear this will lead Italy's member of the new Commission having a secondary role.
    "I am talking with Ursula von der Leyen," Meloni said.
    "We have time until 30 August for the names (of the new Commissioner), it is one of the things I would like to deal with as soon as I get back (from China).
    "We clearly also need to make an assessment with the parties of the ruling coalition, but, in short, it's one of the first things I will deal with when I get back". (ANSA).