Giorgia Meloni presents Italian positions before the EU Council in Parliament

Havana, June 28 (RHC) Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni presented to her country's Parliament the positions that her government will defend at the European Union (EU) summit scheduled for June 29 and 30.

According to a statement released this Wednesday on the official site of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, the president said this morning in the Chamber of Deputies that one of the main issues will be the strengthening of ties between the EU and the Treaty Organization of the North Atlantic (NATO).

The Head of Government pointed out that in this sense, on June 29, before the start of the work of the European Council, which will meet at the EU headquarters in Brussels, there will be a working meeting with the Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg.

In this meeting, a few days before the summit of the transatlantic bloc that will be held on July 11 and 12 in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, regional security will be discussed, and in particular military support for Ukraine within the framework of its current war conflict with Russia, as well as a strengthening of the measures against Moscow.

"The Council will reaffirm the Union's commitment as a partner and provider of global security, in complementarity with the Atlantic Alliance, to implement the Strategic Compass and advance regulations for the strengthening of the European defense industry also through joint purchases", exposed the prime minister.

The Italian leader also announced that one of the central issues of this EU summit will be the migration crisis, a problem that, according to her, "is a European challenge and, therefore, requires European responses".

The regional community is working to "overcome the historical contrast between primary and secondary movements and between countries of first arrival and countries of destination," she asserted, adding that the defense of the EU's external borders against illegal immigration must be addressed "before that it reaches our shores".

Based on this perspective, she emphasized that Italy defends the need to "maintain the European Union's attention to the countries on the southern shores of the Mediterranean and Africa", since "the relationship with the countries of origin and transit must be considered a priority”.

Meloni stated that Italy hopes that, under the Spanish presidency of the European Council, in the next six months a meeting can be held between the EU and the Southern Neighborhood at the level of Heads of State and Government to discuss these issues.

"The Council conclusions will also refer to the preparation of the EU-CELAC Summit on July 17 and 18, a great opportunity to relaunch relations between Europe and Latin America, two regions historically united by common cultural roots", Meloni added. (Source: PL)