Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on
Tuesday told the Lower House that the appointment to the
European Commission of Italy's Raffaele Fitto as an executive
vice president with the brief for cohesion and the NRRP,
recognized Italy's central role.
Meloni said the former Italian European affairs minister is a
"politician of value, esteemed in Italy and in Europe" and "we
can recognize how the role is adequate to the weight of our
nation in Europe, confirming Italy's centrality".
"It is not only an honorary title but a concrete tool that will
allow to supervise and coordinate strategic sectors like
agriculture, fishing, the economy of the sea, social housing:
Italian sensibility can contribute to a pragmatic approach,
overcoming the ideological and dogmatic one" of the past few
years, said the premier.
Meloni also told the Lower House ahead of a European Council on
December 19 that it was necessary to have a pragmatic approach
with the new administration of US President-elect Donald Trump.
"It is indispensable to maintain a pragmatic, constructive and
open approach towards the new Trump administration, using areas
of potential and fruitful EU-US cooperation, and try to prevent
commercial diatribes that wouldn't benefit anyone", said the
premier.
On Syria, the premier said Italy is ready to dialogue with the
new Syrian leadership, as part of shared evaluations and actions
with European and international partners, following the
overthrow of former president Bashar al-Assad's regime.
"The fall of Assad's regime is good news, rightly celebrated by
the Syrian population after over a decade of civil war.
"The rebel forces that have established themselves are
heterogeneous, they have a different provenance and potentially
contrasting interests", Meloni said in her communications to the
House.
"There is obviously concern for the future of the nation.
"Italy, the only G7 nation to have an open embassy in Damascus,
is ready to dialogue with the new Syrian leadership, obviously
in a context of shared evaluations and actions with European and
international partners", said Meloni.
The premier also said a directive regarding repatriations and
the concept of safe countries could not be postponed any longer
and called for the implementation as soon as possible of a new
Pact on immigration and asylum.
"We consider as undelayable a review of the directive on
repatriations and of the concept of safe country, as we consider
important to move up as much as possible what has been provided
for by the new Pact on immigration and asylum, also with the aim
of finally shedding light on an issue that was the object of
recent judicial measures of an ideological flavour which, if
confirmed in their basic philosophy by the EU Court of Justice,
would risk compromising, at least until new EU rules come into
force in 2026, the repatriation policies of all member states, a
concerning and unacceptable perspective that it is necessary to
prevent with determination", said Meloni.
On December 19, EU leaders are set to meet in Brussels to
discuss Ukraine, the European Union's global role, the Middle
East, migration and foreign policy issues, among others.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been invited to
attend the meeting.
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