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The spotlights on the eve are all focused on Expo 2030. But among the topics that could frame the next few hours, on the occasion of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s trip to Paris for the general assembly of the BIE (Bureau International des Expositions), there it could also be the “always current” dossier of the Turin-Lyon high-speed railway line, as well as the new balance of the telecommunications sector, with the reorganization of Tim.
The French presidency has announced that the premier and French president Emmanuel Macron will meet tomorrow afternoon, Tuesday 20 June, at the Elysée. A face-to-face that will develop in the wake of the understanding found between Italy and France during the G7 meeting in Hiroshima. The meeting “will discuss the bilateral relations that unite France and Italy, and in particular the implementation of the Quirinale Treaty”. Macron and Meloni, the Elysee explained in a note, “will discuss European issues and will take advantage of this meeting to prepare for the European Council to be held in Brussels on Thursday 29 and Friday 30 June”. There will also be talk “of the NATO summit to be held in Vilnius, Lithuania, on Tuesday 11 and Wednesday 12 July”. Furthermore, the meeting will be “an opportunity to reaffirm common support for Ukraine on the military, humanitarian, economic, diplomatic and judicial aspects”.
Among the topics on the table in the dialogue between Italy and France is also the revision of the European rules of the stability pact and of the “frozen” fiscal stakes due to the pandemic, an area in which Meloni can find a shoulder in Macron. In short, the opportunities for convergence are not lacking.
The challenge for Expo 2030: Meloni flies to Paris
The “main dish” of Meloni’s French trip is the Expo 2030 dossier. On Tuesday 20 June Meloni flies to Paris to support Rome’s candidacy to host the 2030 universal exposition. The appointment at the Bie assembly is essential, even if the vote will arrive on November 28: the government, the region, the capital and the organizing committee have been working for months to convince the 170 delegates of the Bureau international des expositions that Rome is the right city to bet on. «It is positive that all the institutions are working to bring Expo to Rome. It will be an extraordinary opportunity», underlined the mayor of Rome Roberto Gualtieri who will in turn be in the French capital, together with the governor of Lazio Francesco Rocca. And the presence of the prime minister, for the organizers, is a fundamental “endorsement”, given among other things that the prince heir to the Saudi throne Mohammed Bin Salman has been in Paris for a few days to sponsor Riyadh’s candidacy – he also met macron, who received him at the Elysée -, as well as members of the government of South Korea.
But the Italians are convinced that they have what it takes to beat the competition from the South Korean Busan and above all from the very fierce Riad. Odessa remains in the background, to which Italy has long proposed (even during the premier’s visit to Kiev to Volodymyr Zelensky) to eventually find forms of collaboration, currently not envisaged by the Bie rules. The match will be played entirely in the 20 minutes allotted to each country to demonstrate that the city, and the country, best represent the spirit of the Universal Exposition: the arrival of the premier changes the schedule of speeches, accompanied by some testimonials. In the evening, also Tuesday, everyone will move to the Italian embassy where the judges of the Bie will be offered a show to tell Italy through Italian choreographers and artists, along the lines of the light and drone show against the backdrop of the Colosseum staged in April for inspectors.