08/06/2023 16:01 (act. 08/06/2023 16:10)
Meloni at his last meeting with Scholz in Berlin in February ©APA/AFP
The EU’s new and revised Stability and Growth Pact is expected to boost European growth through flexible rules. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said this after talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Rome on Thursday. “We need a new stability pact strongly oriented towards supporting growth: European competitiveness must be supported by adequate and flexible rules”, said Meloni.
“The old rules are outdated and new rules must be sought to support growth,” Meloni said in a joint statement with Scholz at the end of the meeting at the government headquarters in Palazzo Chigi. The meeting also discussed the issue of migration.
“It is important to be attentive to the demands of the countries most pressured by the migration issue”, said Meloni. She confirmed that on Sunday she will travel with the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the Dutch Prime Minister, Mark Rutte, to Tunisia, the country from which many migrants leave for Italy.
Meloni lamented that Italy was “in complete solitude” involved in rescuing migrants in the Mediterranean. The situation is particularly complex because of the “difficult economy” in countries like Syria and Afghanistan. According to Meloni, cooperation and support agreements with the migrants’ countries of origin are particularly important. In that regard, Scholz pledged support. He also declared himself in favor of promoting legal immigration channels, as Germany, like Italy, needs qualified labor.
Scholz hopes Sweden can also join the western defense alliance at the NATO summit in Vilnius in July. A sign of unity must emanate from the summit, he said. The background to this is Turkey’s continued resistance to Sweden’s accession.