The EU took a big step to the extreme right

During the autumn, the EU has taken a big step towards the extreme right. At the same time, anti-euro sentiment is on the rise in at least two major member states.

The issue was brought up by a professor at EUI, University of Florence’s European Institute Simon Hix after the October EU summit.

“This is how it starts,” he wrote on the messaging service X and shared a photo of the Italian prime minister Giorgia Melonin from the meeting hosted by the hostess, where some of the EU decision-makers discussed “innovative solutions to combat migration”.

The meeting was also attended by the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and the Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholzand it was this that caught Hix’s attention.

Italy’s development is particularly worrying

Many people associate the recent landslide victories of the German far-right party AfD in the German regional elections with the same thing. For this reason, Scholz’s government has already tightened its immigration policy.

The development in Italy is considered particularly worrying. Prime Minister Meloni, who has a neo-fascist background, won the election two years ago by promising to stop all immigration. However, he has only started to implement an exceptionally tough immigration policy this fall.

The excerpts became concrete in October, when a Roman court overturned the transfer of asylum seekers from Italy to Albania, and 12 asylum seekers were transferred back and forth between the countries.

For Meloni, the embarrassing episode speaks clearly about the direction the EU is now heading. Simon Hix predicts that the turn to the extreme right will be seen next in climate policy.

At the same time, economists warn of the rise of anti-euro sentiment. Speculation on euro differences went into full swing last January, when the leader of the AfD Alice Weidel flashed Germany’s exit from the euro In an interview with the Financial Times.

Italy has not accepted the EVM reform

Professor of Economics at the Luiss University in Rome Veronica of the Romans considers that in fact Italy has already taken its first step out of the euro. This is because Italy is the only euro country that has not accepted the reform of the European stability mechanism EVM.

De Romanis is not alone, as the former head of the ECB’s Directorate-General for Macroprudential Policy and Financial Stability Ignazio Angeloni already in March described Italy as the only country that really threatens the euro.

Professor, University of Surrey Daniele Albertazzi estimates that Giorgia Meloni and the government can no longer back down from their strong positions without losing face. It is now only a matter of time when Meloni’s tough line will attract the attention of the market.

The author is Kauppalehti’s correspondent in Udine.