Who knows that one day, looking at the Forlì summit between Giorgia Meloni and Ursula von der Leyen, political historians will end up talking about the ‘Piadina Pact’.
Certainly – while outside in Piazza Saffi, around a hundred demonstrators, victims of the flood, contested the summit by dismissing it as an “electoral catwalk” – the Prime Minister and that of the European Commission withdrew to a room in the Town Hall of the Romagna city , for a bilateral meeting that lasted an hour. A meeting in which we talked about Europe’s support for reconstruction in the territories hit by the bad weather last May, but also about other highly topical and prospective topics, strengthening the relationship between Italy and the European Union. And also strengthening the personal relationship between the two leaders, also in view of what could happen after the next European elections.
In the face to face with von der Leyen, the Prime Minister stated, at the end of the meeting “we addressed” various topics “starting from those of the next European Council, we talked about the Union budget and other important matters such as the need to guarantee resources to Ukraine”, the issue of immigration and “the Mattei plan”. On the other hand, Meloni argued, on the migration front, “the Italian approach to working on the external dimension is one of the issues on which we have worked a lot together with President von der Leyen in recent months”. Also because, she underlines, with the African nations from which the migrants come “we need an equal and non-predatory approach: von der Leyen understood this before others and I want to thank her”.
Words that tighten the ties of the relationship between Rome and Brussels, also woven on the European willingness to support the relaunch of the flooded territories thanks to a revision of the Pnrr – which will allow Italy to invest 1.2 billion in particular on hydraulic defense and restoration of roads and infrastructures – and the applause of von der Leyen herself because precisely on the Pnrr “Italy is absolutely in line with the roadmap: half of the funds have already been disbursed and this is great news”.
Which is heartening, together with the promise that the European Union will help the injured territories to “get back on their feet and be more resilient. We are doing it – assures von der Leyen, who had already visited the flooded lands in May – and we will do it again more”. Good news, these, also for the president of the Emilia-Romagna Region, Stefano Bonaccini who, in expressing satisfaction for the 1.2 billion that have been added “for investments” does not fail to underline how on the side of reimbursements for damages the guard will remain high: “we will not move an inch until what happened with the earthquake happens, in which all those who suffered damage received 100% reimbursements”. In a day full of commitments, with the Prime Minister, also in Bologna (where the students of the Osa collective welcomed her with a small protest) to sign the new agreement for the Development and Cohesion Fund and a visit to the fair at Marca salon, an involuntary scene was also staged, with Bonaccini protagonist of a slip of the tongue – accompanied by laughter and applause from the audience – when, regarding investments for the Technopole and the region’s mission in Japan, he quoted “Commissioner Vannacci ” in place of Vattani, general commissioner for Italy at Expo Osaka 2025.
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