Meloni meets Macron and Fico in Rome with Ukraine war topping agenda

Euronews

2 days ago

Meloni first received Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico who arrived at the prime minister's residence, the Chigi Palace, at around 4pm.
According to a statement released by the Slovak government, the two leaders discussed the development of bilateral relations and the possibility of further cooperation in the field of energy.
"I really appreciate the pragmatic approach of your Prime Minister. I really like your pragmatic way of dealing with issues," Fico told reporters following the meeting.
"We focused on the war in Ukraine. The President of the Council was very interested in my position, since Slovakia is a neighbouring country, of course," he said.
"We discussed the issue of repowering, that is, what will happen in Europe when all energy supplies from Russia will no longer reach the European Union."
"I think there are countries in the EU that want to prolong this war with the idea that this is the way to harm Russia. I don't think this strategy works," Fico stressed.
Fico is a divisive figure at home with his critics accusing him of being pro-Russia. In January, Fico threatened to cut financial aid for more than 130,000 Ukrainian refugees living in the country as part of a set of retaliatory measures against Kyiv over its decision to halt the flow of Russian gas through its territory to Slovakia.
He has also said that Ukraine will never be allowed to join NATO, stopped military aid to Ukraine and criticised EU sanctions on Russia, all views which are largely at odds with the European mainstream.
Fico and Meloni "discussed their support for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine and their commitment to the reconstruction of the country in view of the Ukraine Recovery Conference that Italy will host in July 2025," a joint government statement said.
Later on Tuesday, Meloni welcomes France's President Emmanuel Macron to the Chigi Palace for talks which covered Ukraine, Gaza and relations with the European Union and the Trump administration.
"Prime Minister Meloni is part of the collective format of the Coalition of the Willing. She was present in the meetings in Paris and London, Italy is an important partner," the Elysée Palace said in a statement released on Monday.
That was a reference to a group of European countries spearheaded by Macron and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer primarily to continue support for Ukraine's armed forces. The group is also working on the creation of a reassurance force that could be deployed to Ukraine as an additional security guarantee in a post-war scenario.
In addition to Italy, the coalition also includes Germany, Denmark, Greece, Portugal and Romania among others.
Italy's government said that both countries have "common positions" on many issues and expectations were high for productive talks but the leaders' opinions don't align on all issues.
There have been differences of position regarding military support for Ukraine with Macron adopting a more aggressive stance while Italy has generally remained cooler.
Macron has hinted at western boots on the ground in Ukraine while Meloni favours extending NATO's mutual defence agreement under Article 5 to Kyiv, an idea which hasn't found much support among allies.
Meloni was noticeably absent from Macron's mid-May trip to Kyiv with Starmer and Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
And a week later she also didn't attend a working meeting of the leaders of the Coalition of the Willing in Tirana on the sidelines of the European Political Community summit.
Tuesday's meeting and working dinner were expected to bridge some of those gaps and see discussions on economic cooperation between Italy and France, with Meloni hoping to find common ground with Macron on addressing migration and transatlantic relations.
The Court of Justice of the European Union on Tuesday ruled in favour of migrants' rights in a case filed by an Italian court regarding what can be considered aiding and abetting illegal immigration.
The court ruling noted that, in the case of a third-country national entering the EU irregularly accompanied by a child in their care, their conduct "cannot be regarded as aiding and abetting illegal immigration."
"In fact, the parent in this case assumes an obligation related to his or her personal responsibility towards the child in accordance with fundamental rights, in particular respect for family life and the child," the president of the EU's highest legal authority, Koen Lenaerts, explained in his judgment.
With this preliminary ruling, the court agrees with the Court of Bologna, which filed the proceedings in July 2023 following the entry into Italy of a Congolese citizen in 2019.
The woman entered the country at the airport border of Bologna with two minors — her daughter and niece, over whom she had actual care following the death of the niece's mother — using false documents.
She said she fled Congo after receiving threats from her ex-partner and took the two minors with her because she feared for their physical well-being.
She was arrested and is being prosecuted for facilitating unauthorised entry into Italy.
The Italian court had asked the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) whether the 2002 directive on the facilitation of illegal immigration was compatible with the Charter of Fundamental Rights.
The referring court doubted whether the directive provides for humanitarian assistance as a justification for making the crime of aiding and abetting not punishable.
In other words, it was asking the EU court about the scope of the general offence of facilitation of unauthorised entry, provided for by EU law.
"The court answers that the conduct of a person who, in breach of the rules governing the movement of people across borders, brings into the territory of a member state minors who are third-country nationals and are accompanying him or her, and over whom he or she exercises actual care, does not fall within the scope of that offence," the ruling on Tuesday said.
It added that this conduct "does not constitute facilitation of illegal immigration, which EU law seeks to combat" but rather "the exercise by that person of his or her responsibility stemming from the family relationship and the actual care over those minors."
Lenaerts went further, stating that the interpretation is necessary, also in light of the fundamental right to asylum. He explained that, because the woman had made an application for international protection, she could not be regarded as staying illegally on the territory.
This is the case so long as no decision has been given on her application at first instance, Lenaerts explained.