Meloni in Brussels: «Careful on duties, security guarantees to Kiev. I was insulted for Ventotene»
The Prime Minister criticizes the left: "Illiberal and nostalgic soul". On rearmament: "The resources seem many but they are virtual"European rearmament, the war in Ukraine, American duties. But also the Ventotene case.
On the sidelines of the European Council, Giorgia Meloni takes stock of the situation, starting from the all-Italian squabbles , a storm that has not subsided since yesterday in the Chamber the Prime Minister harshly criticized some points of the Manifesto drawn up in 1941 by Altiero Spinelli, Ernesto Rossi and Eugenio Colorni.
On the part of the left, says the Prime Minister, there has been an "absolutely discomposed reaction" that shows "an illiberal and nostalgic soul" of the opposition that has "objectively difficulties in dealing with the ideas of others. I have no difficulties. I am very convinced of mine, I claim them and I think that this is the basis of democracy and therefore I believe the problem is with others". "I claim that I do not agree", she adds, but "I did not insult anyone, the one insulted was me, largely".
The EU ReArm
On European rearmament: «The resources envisaged seem many but they are virtual. We are not closing ourselves to loans» at the basis of the national safeguard clause but «it is a choice that we must evaluate, we do not have the details yet». On the choice of whether or not to activate the clause by April: «The horizon seems close to us».
The war in Ukraine
As for Ukraine, "I think that the main issue for a just and lasting peace is the guarantee of security, which is the great debate and was partly held this morning," Meloni said. "We are all trying to ask ourselves which security guarantees could be most effective. I continue to personally believe that, among all the options we have or the proposals I have heard, that of an extension of the principles or of Article 5 of the NATO treaty even without Ukraine's immediate entry into NATO would be the most effective solution, in the long term and also, in my opinion, to reveal any bluffs on the part of Russia. Because if Russia has no intention of invading Ukraine again, why should it oppose security guarantees that are only defensive? So I continue to raise this question, which also seems to be growing in consensus."
US tariffs
On duties, " we must be cautious with an automatic response. I am worried about the consequences. Today, ECB President Lagarde spoke of an estimate of a contraction of 0.3 of GDP that would go to 0.5 if we responded. It seems lucid to me, on the part of the President of the EU Commission Ursula von der Leyen, to postpone by a few days" the activation of the countermeasures. She will go to the White House, she continues to repeat, "but I don't have a date yet."
(Online Union)
