After Niscemi, Meloni starts again from Coldiretti: ‘No to EU quibbles’

In the morning at Niscemiwhere he announces new measures to deal with the bad weather emergency and the consequences of the landslide that hit the Sicilian town, then the afternoon in Brescia, where Giorgia Meloni meets the ’embrace’ of Coldiretti, with an emphasis on the “balance” between the need for defense spending and “the ability to respond to the needs of businesses and citizens”. Then some ‘jabs’ to the current structure of theEuropean Unionwhich warm up the audience at the PalaLeonessa in Brescia. From the no to the EU “of chicanery and bureaucrats” to the ‘slap in the face’ of “the Timmermans and armchair environmentalists”.

Because, Meloni reiterates amidst the applause of Coldiretti, “agriculture is a sector to be protected“. In days of internal and international tension, Meloni starts again from his traditional dialectical posture towards the “ideological and bureaucratic” drift of Brussels. The Prime Minister identifies in this approach “the first enemy of Europe” which, among other things, “hits the pillar of the agricultural world”.

Europe

Hence the difference between “The Europe of our fathers foundedri”, defined as “a community of free nations”. A ‘dream’ of a community, “objectively far from that of quibblers and bureaucrats who claim to decide in place of those who have a democratic mandate to do so”. “Agriculture is a sector to be protected. And explain to the Timmermans and armchair environmentalists, there is nothing further from the devastation of the word agriculture”, urges Meloni.

The change of pace

In front of an audience that is not always respectful towards some policies of the European Unionthe prime minister lashes out at continental institutions and ‘calls’ for “a change of pace”. Otherwise, the risk feared by the head of government is “that Europe will be consigned to the irrelevance of history”. In short, this is the reflection delivered to the Coldiretti assembly, a different Europe is needed. Starting from some issues that are close to the hearts of Italian farmers. “We ask that Europe review the customs organization and the reference code, because this makes the difference”, is the exhortation of the Prime Minister. Who insists: “The principle of reciprocity and customs controls are minimum conditions for any commercial agreement to be considered satisfactory.”

The link with Coldiretti

In the belief that “after three and a half years, food sovereignty is the pillar of our work”. In this regard, Meloni does not fail to remember an anecdote, dating back to shortly after the victory of the center-right in the 2022 political elections. When – he says – “I chose a Coldiretti village as my first public outing”.

“It was Prandini – she continues referring to the president of Coldiretti who had spoken before her – who on that occasion launched me the idea of ​​inserting Food Sovereignty in the name of the Ministry of Agriculture”. But, regarding the national and international debate, the reflection on defense spending immediately catches the attention of the public and reporters present. “I haven’t changed my mind” on the subject, Meloni is keen to point out. Which, however, points out that “a balance is needed between the need to defend ourselves and our ability to respond to the needs of businesses and citizens”.

An opening, this, welcomed – naturally – with favor by those who participate in theColdiretti initiative in Brescia. And Meloni reciprocated by thanking the farmers “for their tenacity, ambition and dedication”, because “your solidity has allowed the nation to resist in the most difficult moments”. The Prime Minister quotes US President Dwight Eisenhower, that of “agriculture seems easy, but when your plow is a pencil and you are a thousand miles from the corn field”. In a closing circle, the prime minister once again thanks the farmers “for not giving in an inch, for not throwing in the towel”. And he starts again, to the applause of the audience. Niscemi, Brescia, Rome.