Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni on
Tuesday urged all Italian political parties to take action
within their European political groups, speaking about the
appointment of Raffaele Fitto as commissioner and vice president
in the new European Commission headed by Ursula von der Leyen
while addressing the Senate ahead of a European Council
scheduled on October 17-18. Meloni, who spoke beside her two
deputy premiers, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani and Transport
Minister Matteo Salvini, is scheduled to address the Lower House
in the afternoon. "I hope that all Italian political forces will
became active within their European political families so this
result can be reached by our nation quickly and without
glitches", said Meloni. "There are moments in which national
interest must prevail over partisanship: I hope this is one of
them, without distinctions and without hesitations", noted the
premier. Von der Leyen last month announced that she had
proposed six executive vice presidents for the new EU executive,
including Italy's Raffaele Fitto, with a portfolio for cohesion
and reforms. Fitto, Italy's European affairs minister and a
heavyweight in the premier's Brothers of Italy (FdI) party, will
manage the post-Covid NRRP funds with Valdis Dombrovskis, the
commissioner-designate for the economy. On Tuesday Meloni said
that the responsibility to handle the NRRP entrusted to Fitto
together with Commissioner Dombrovskis by von der Leyen was a
"collaboration on equal terms" which represents "an opportunity
for the Italian commissioner to make the reasons of a necessary
additional flexibility in investments prevail, an historically
Italian position that has found a first partial acceptance in
the reform of the Stability Pact".
"The European Council will stress once again its support to the
Ukrainian cause to build a fair and long-lasting peace and help
it look at a future of prosperity and well-being.
"Defending it is in the interest of Italy and Europe", Meloni
told the Senate.
In her address, the premier also spoke about the IDF's attacks
on UNIFIL, saying that, "although no victims or significant
damage were registered", they could not be considered acceptable
and this is "the position Italy has taken with determination at
all levels: we demand that the security of our soldiers is
guaranteed" both within "UNIFIL and the bilateral mission, which
together with the rest of the international community has
contributed for years" to the stability of the border between
Israel and Lebanon..
She stressed that the "attitude of Israeli forces is totally
unjustified and a clear violation of UN resolution 1701", adding
it was necessary to "work for the full implementation of the
resolution, strengthening the full capability of UNIFIL and of
Lebanese armed forces".
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