Giorgia Meloni & Ursula von der Leyen’s EU debates to Bridge Divides

Subscribe here: https://bit.ly/eudebates After the frictions of last summer, when Giorgia Meloni’s group in the European Parliament chose not to support Ursula von der Leyen’s re-election, the relationship between the Italian premier and the president of the European Commission has been steadily improving. Von der Leyen’s frequent participation in informal meetings promoted by Meloni – the latest yesterday – on “innovative solutions” to combat irregular migration confirms this. Still, this morning (Dec. 20), the two leaders met at the Berlaymont Palace, the headquarters of the EU executive, before Meloni left for Lapland, where the Finnish prime minister will host a North-South summit over the weekend.

The priorities for action in the new European institutional cycle were at the center of the bilateral meeting between von der Leyen and Meloni, a statement from Palazzo Chigi explains. The Italian premier reportedly addressed, in particular, the “strong concerns of the domestic agricultural sector” over the signing of the EU-Mercosur Free Trade Agreement and, subsequently, the prospects of the struggling automotive sector in the face of the green transition.

There was also “special attention” to European migration policy, the statement added. Von der Leyen and Meloni reportedly took stock of the results achieved so far – 220,000 irregular entries in the first eleven months of 2024, down by 40 percent compared to 2023 and by 60 percent on the central Mediterranean route – and then reasoned about what still needs doing “to have effective tools for managing the migration phenomenon.” The talks lasted about an hour, after which they were scheduled to leave for the summit in Finland.

Migration, which has returned powerfully to the top priorities in Brussels and several governments in member countries, will again be among the topics at a summit with leaders of northern and southern European countries hosted by Finland’s prime minister, Petteri Orpo, on Saturday, Dec. 21 and Sunday, Dec. 22, in Saariselkä.

Stay connected with us!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eudebates.tv/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/eudebates
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eudebates.tv/

#eudebates the unique initiative aiming to promote debate, dialogue, knowledge, participation and communication among citizens. #Italy #Meloni #Giorgia_Meloni #Migration #VonderLeyen #migrants #Italy #mediterranean #Brussels #GiorgiaMeloni #UrsulavonderLeyen #EUPolitics #MigrationPolicy #GreenTransition #EuropeanUnion #NorthSouthSummit #Europe2024 #EULeadership

source