An almost obligatory convergence between Meloni and Macron: there are too many common goals, too many activities that the two countries carry out jointly. On the North African side, the aim is to hold free elections in Libya by 2023 and there is also agreement on the policy to be adopted with Tunisia to try to manage the migratory flow towards Europe via Italy-France. Convergence is also recorded in opposing together the new rules of the EU Stability Pact.
Among the level activities where there is strong competition are fashion, defense and space. However, there are many joint activities in the defense and space sectors. To name one above all the joint supply of the anti-aircraft battery Samp-T to Ukraine. Italy has supplied the weapon system which costs 500 million euros while France has supplied the Aster30 missiles, the cost of which is around two million euros each.
The choice of country for Expo 2030 is also in the pot. Meloni went to the Palais des Congres d'Issy to support Rome, while the Saudis were nominating Riyadh. Also minority proposals include Busan in South Korea and Odessa in the Ukraine.
On the votes, Macron immediately came out in the open by not supporting Rome and voting for Riyadh, just as he was waiting for a bilateral agreement on immigration. In defiance of the Quirinal Treaty which should guarantee greater reciprocity, Macron has clearly gone against the interests of Italy and conversely of Europe.
The only point that brings Meloni home is a general agreement for the management of migratory flows through the stabilization of Libya and Tunisia. In the country led by Kais Saied, the two leaders allegedly shared a common path to combat terrorism and the flows of irregular immigrants. Not only that, the idea is to write a new path of reforms, longer and with a different impact, so that the president of Tunis can accept the reforms imposed without losing face with local public opinion. Above all, the path would make it easier to accept the disbursement of funds within the International Monetary Fund.
On Libya Italy and France want to act together on Khalifa Haftar and Mohammed Dbeibeh, provisional holder of the Tripoli government to carry out free elections already during the current year and before December.
Macron said it is “need to work better with transit and origin countries to avoid incoming flows. This is also the meaning of the Tunisian initiative. We want to strengthen the control of our external borders, which includes Italy as a country of first entry".
Meloni reiterated that at the next European summit it will be necessary to take a step forward on the external dimension of migratory flows: "Governing the primary flows in order to manage the secondary ones, for this reason in the external dimension the partnership with the countries of North Africa and beyond becomes central. We need alternatives that allow us to organize illegal migration and stop illegal ones, we cannot continue to allow slavery in the third millennium".
Italy and France, Meloni said, can take a common path and strengthen dialogue both for the benefit of our national interests and of Europe.
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