Despite tense relations on several subjects, in particular migrants, Emmanuel Macron and Giorgia Meloni, the Italian far-right Prime Minister, know how to display a common position on Ukraine. The French president and the head of the Italian government spoke by telephone on Monday and “welcomed the joint action of France and Italy to support Ukraine on the military level, with in particular the decision taken jointly at the end of last week to provide a SAMP/T – MAMBA anti-aircraft defense system, which will fully meet the priority needs expressed by kyiv”, reported the Elysée.
Before the European summit on Thursday and Friday in Brussels, “the two leaders expressed their determination to continue this support over the long term”, added the French presidency. Giorgia Meloni’s services confirmed that she had underlined “the priority of seeing the European Council give a concrete signal of full support for Ukraine at 360 degrees”. This theme was also at the heart of his telephone interviews with his Dutch counterparts Mark Rutte, Austrian Karl Nehammer and Greek Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
Emmanuel Macron and Giorgia Meloni also discussed the other topics on the agenda of the Brussels summit, including “the strengthening of European industrial policy” and “migration”, according to Paris. Rome spoke of the need for a “finally European management of migratory flows”, centered in particular on “border control”.