Emmanuel Macron did not deny that between France e Italia there have been some “controversies“, but in the meeting with the Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, however, wanted to underline that “the ties between our societies, our economies, our artists and our universities bring to life this unique relationship that France and Italy have every day. This is the friendship that I hold above all and she knows it well ”. And the strong points of this friendship are clear, according to the words of the head of the Elysée: support forUkraine, immigration e border control external. But on the applications to Expo 2030Paris reiterates: “We support Riyadh“.
The first aspect, the easiest on which to find a common ground given the positions expressed by both governments in recent months, is certainly support for the cause of Kiev: “As Europeans and allies we must support the Ukrainian people together from a humanitarian but also a military point of view – Macron said addressing the Italian premier – I want to thank you for the clarity of your support and we must continue so that the counteroffensive which was launched a short time ago is effective”.
The president then complimented Roma for attempts to reach an agreement with the Tunisia in order to curb departures from the coasts of the North African country and thus make the national and European borders less permeable. On this, he explained, France and Italy have a “shared vision of the emergency of the situation” and have “the willingness to reach an effective agreement while awaiting progress with International Monetary Fund“. All this, he claims, to avoid witnessing new tragedies in the Mediterranean such as the one off the Greek coast, where there are hundreds of victims and missing persons from the boat which left from Libya carrying about 750 people. “We continue to witness dramas” in the Mediterranean and “we must manage to organize asylum and immigration more effectively, by remaining true to our values“, Macron said adding that “we must work better with the countries of transit and of origin to stop the incoming flows” and hoping for a strengthening of the “control of our external borders” as “there is no good European migration policy if there is no coherent policy to defend our common borders”. The formula, he explained, is one that finds “the right balance between responsibility and solidarity between all countries. This was the meaning of the package negotiated under the French presidency and which led to an agreement that was, in our opinion, positive. This is the pragmatic approach that I want to continue using”.
There is one issue on which, however, Paris does not back down and it is support for Riyadh’s candidacy for Expo 20230, to the detriment of Rome: “This commitment has been made and will be maintained – explained Macron – But it only applies to the first round”. With this move, France also wanted to lead Saudi Arabia to make commitments to us on issues that are important to us. This commitment has been made and will be kept.”