diplomacy
Scholz visits Italian Prime Minister Meloni in Rome
Olaf Scholz together with Giorgia Meloni shortly after his arrival in Rome. photo
© Michael Kappeler/dpa
The fears that Italy’s right-wing head of government could become a threat to Europe have not yet been confirmed. The Chancellor sees no break in the relationship – and travels to Rome.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) traveled to Rome to meet Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. It is the Chancellor’s first visit to the Italian capital since the leader of the far-right Fratelli d’Italia party took power in October.
Meloni was already in Berlin for her inaugural visit in February. At that time, Scholz had declared that he also wanted to cooperate closely with the new Italian government. Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit confirmed this yesterday before the Chancellor’s departure. “The federal government works well and trustingly with all Italian governments,” he said. “And that hasn’t changed in the last few weeks and months.”
Gentle tones by Meloni
Meloni, who had sharply attacked Germany as an opposition politician, is now adopting a conciliatory tone. During her visit to Berlin in February, she didn’t really want to remember an earlier statement that she was allergic to Germany. “I have no idea when I should have said that,” she said at a joint press conference with Scholz.
Fears that Meloni could pose a threat to European cohesion were not confirmed in the first few months of her term. Unlike before she took office, she has been very pro-EU as prime minister and apparently has good relations with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. She is also in line with Berlin and Paris when it comes to supporting Ukraine’s defense against Russia.
Migration a hot topic
It’s a bit more crunchy when it comes to migration. Meloni continues to firmly oppose uncontrolled migration across the Mediterranean and would prefer not to have any more ships sailing from Africa to southern Italy. When, just a few weeks after taking office, a civil sea rescue ship was turned away from Rome and had to continue to France, there was a diplomatic crisis between Paris and Rome.
European asylum policy should also be an issue in today’s talks with Scholz. Parallel to the Chancellor’s trip, the interior ministers of the European Union are trying to get a major reform of the European asylum system off the ground in Luxembourg. It is about a much more rigid handling of migrants with no prospects of staying and a duty to support the particularly heavily burdened member states at the EU’s external borders, which also includes Italy.