Macron-Meloni rapprochement has ramifications beyond Europe
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The disagreements between French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni have been legion. However, both tried to bury the hatchet this week in a move that potentially could help reshape not only European policy but foreign issues too, including the situation in Libya.
Italy's Corriere della Sera newspaper described their big meeting on Tuesday as a 'turning point summit,' while Il Messaggero's headline asserted that 'Meloni reconciles with Macron' in a 'thaw.' This amounts to quite the potential turnaround in the relationship between the leaders of the EU's second- and third-largest economies.
Yet, this development is not entirely surprising. For much of the post-war era, Germany and France have been the dynamos of ever-closer European integration. However, Macron has had uneven relationships with the three German chancellors he has worked with, and it remains to be seen what will unfold with the latest, Friedrich Merz.
While Macron's relationship with Merz could well be better than with Merz's predecessor, Olaf Scholz, there are no guarantees. The French president therefore is looking to continue his long-running project of geopolitical rebalancing by enhancing relationships with other powers in the EU, including Italy and Spain.
Macron's outreach to Italy reached its high point so far under the prime ministership of Mario Draghi from 2021 to 2022. They signed the so-called 'Quirinale Treaty' for bilateral cooperation, the promise of which bears similarities to the Elysee Treaty between France and Germany that was designed to rebuild their relationship after the Second World War.
Under the agreement, France and Italy committed to enhanced coordination on security, defense, migration, technology cooperation, including 5G and artificial intelligence, and macroeconomics.
Moreover, in the realm of European affairs Paris and Rome will seek greater coordination before European leadership summits to try to agree on common positions, a process that has long taken place between France and Germany.
The cooperation agreement was first mooted by Macron in 2018 when Paolo Gentiloni was Italy's prime minister. However, relations between the countries deteriorated when Gentiloni's administration was succeeded that same year by the populist government of the League and the Five-Star Movement, headed by Giuseppe Conto.
Since Meloni took office almost three years ago, Franco-Italian tensions have resurfaced, including early disagreements over migration, and another at the Italian G7 summit in 2024 over abortion rights. More recently, there have been wider geopolitical tensions, including how best to engage with US President Donald Trump during his second term in the White House, including over trade relations, and also the next steps in support for Ukraine.
For example, Macron has sometimes irritated Meloni with his attempts to put together a 'coalition of the willing' to aid Kyiv. The French president has, for instance, hinted at the idea of EU member states putting boots on the ground in Ukraine, a move that would be deeply unpopular in Italy.
Should the Macron-Meloni reset hold, it could change the power equilibrium in Europe.
Andrew Hammond
Last month, Meloni did not attend a working meeting of the Ukraine coalition of the willing in Albania, on the sidelines of the European Political Community summit. Upon returning to Rome the next day, she called on Macron and other European leaders to 'abandon selfishness' and focus on 'the unity of the West.'
These several disagreements are unsurprising. Meloni is a right-wing populist who comes from a working class, anti-immigrant background. Macron worked as an investment banker and had an elite education.
However, it does appear that both leaders want to try to bury the hatchet. During their meeting on Tuesday, during the French president's first trip to Italy since Meloni became prime minister, they proposed a 'common commitment' on shared challenges, including US tariffs.
They said that 'Italy and France, dedicated to their role as founding states of the European structure, aim to strengthen their common commitment for a more sovereign, stronger and more prosperous Europe, above all for peace.' Moreover, a bilateral summit will take place in France in early 2026.
The focus for this reset is not only on European issues but those far beyond as well, including Libya and the wider Middle East and North Africa region. Both Macron and Meloni are worried Russia might try to boost its presence in eastern Libya to maintain a foothold in the Mediterranean after Moscow's ally, Bashar Assad, was ousted from Syria in December.
Should the Macron-Meloni reset hold, it could therefore change the power equilibrium in Europe. The two leaders have an extensive domestic policy agenda to discuss, including economic competitiveness and industrial cooperation, such as the Franco-Italian carmaker Stellantis, which appointed a new Italian CEO last month.
Internationally, there is scope for them to work more closely in concert. Italy could benefit from France's greater influence on the global diplomatic stage, including its permanent seat on the UN Security Council.
France, meanwhile, might be able to better leverage Meloni's close relationship with Trump and US Vice President J.D. Vance, who share much of her rightist, populist agenda. Last month, Meloni hosted talks in Rome between European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Vance, with the latter highlighting the Italian prime minister's role as a 'bridge-builder between Europe and the United States' under Trump.
Both Meloni and Macron therefore have significant incentives to increase cooperation. However, this reset of Franco-Italian relations will face many challenges, and it is far from certain it will endure until the end of their terms in power.
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