Europe must respond to internal and
external challenges, Premier Giorgia Meloni told the Senate on
Wednesday as she reported to parliament ahead of this week's EU
summit in Brussels
"The European Union is called to give strong and urgent answers
to the difficulties that are challenging it, from inside and
outside. It will not be a routine Council" meeting, Meloni said.
"A world in which there are no longer red lines that cannot be
crossed is an unsafe world for everyone, including us, not only
for those involved in the conflicts," she continued, adding that
"it is no coincidence that there has been no specific
condemnation by Russia of the Hamas attack" on Israel.
This, Meloni said, is why Italy intends to reiterate its
"support for the Ukrainian people".
"We must not make the mistake of weakening support for the
Ukrainian cause," she continued, insisting that Italy looks "not
only to the present but also to a future of peace, to a European
future for Ukraine".
On the twin digital and green transitions underway in Europe
Meloni said Italy supports "reducing dependence on third
countries" such as "China" but warned that "imposing the green
deal measures in forced stages is an error that risks impacting
citizens who could pay the price".
The premier called for a "pragmatic approach to the transition"
so that it is economically and socially "sustainable".
The risk of a "short-sighted approach" is the "industrial
desertification of our continent," she added.
Meloni also reiterated Italy's position that strategic
investments in the twin transitions and in defence need to be
decoupled from new fiscal policy measures set out under the
revised Stability and Growth Pact currently under discussion.
The failure to do so would be "a nonsense that risks undermining
sustainability and security objectives", she said, adding that
Italy will insist on the need to unbundle "all or part of these
items", which are "also promoted by Brussels".
The new fiscal policy rules "must aim at a gradual and
sustainable reduction of debt", continued Meloni.
"Only then can they be credible and enforceable, overcoming the
mistakes of the past," she added.
Talking to reporters after the briefing to parliament, she said
the new European Stability Mechanism (ESM) "is not a subject of
discussion at the European Council".
Earlier Eurogroup President Paschal Donohoe reiterated calls for
Italy to join its EU partners in ratifying the treaty for the
new EU bailout mechanism.
Italy has been holding out on ratification amid concerns about
budget sovereignty and claims the fund should also be used for
growth.
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