In the European Union, member states cannot be classified as first and second class, according to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who called for a more effective European energy policy in her speech in the upper house of the Roman Parliament on Wednesday.
The right-wing Prime Minister stated that the European Union is proving to be "short-sighted" in important strategic decisions. He cited the war in Ukraine and the energy crisis as examples.
Giorgia Meloni believed that a more efficient energy policy was needed and the European Union
"makes a mistake when you don't give a quick answer".
Regarding the war in Ukraine, he explained that the EU must take a common position, because "if we even compete with each other in such a difficult situation, I don't know how wise it is."
He emphasized that if the Western states do not side with Ukraine, which is considered "too weak", when the war breaks out, then there will be no peace, but an invasion.
“I stand for the right of a sovereign state to protect its own sovereignty. (…) Currently, the only possibility for negotiations is the balance of power between the opposing parties in the conflict, the path to peace leads through the support of Ukraine"
Meloni stated.
Before the upcoming summit of European heads of state and government, Giorgia Meloni detailed the views of the right-wing government she leads in Brussels on Tuesday in the lower house and on Wednesday in the upper house. The current one will be the first EU summit attended by Giorgia Meloni as Prime Minister.
He stressed that he does not agree with the practice that the EU
"operates like a club, with member states considered first and second class".
Regarding the perception of Italy, Meloni said that prejudice accompanied the establishment of the right-wing Roman government:
"Some people thought that with a government led by Meloni, a center-right government, Italy would be isolated in the world, as if one of the founding states of the EU and NATO, which plays a fundamental role in the Mediterranean region, could be isolated."
Economist and former prime minister Mario Monti spoke among the senators, saying that he has a positive assessment of the relationship between the government led by Giorgia Meloni and the EU so far. He believed that Meloni and his government could play a leading role in Europe,
"but sometimes the main role is not the best choice".
He recalled that during his government between 2011 and 2012, he "could have beaten the table with his fists in the face of German austerity, but he wanted to achieve results instead, and with months of very tough confrontation, he cornered Angela Merkel and took the German straitjacket off the European Central Bank."
At the same time as Monti's statements, the EU commissioner responsible for economic policy, Paolo Gentiloni, called the very first budget package of the Meloni government for next year positive, stressing that Brussels found several critical points in it.
MTI
Featured image: Riccardo Dalle Luche/ANSA/AFP
