Meloni in the Senate: Trump’s agreement on Russian gas "very risky"

“We must also consider the agreement on Russian diesel announced last Friday by President of the United States Donald Trump. It’s a choice I consider very risky“. This was said by the Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, in the Senate chamber, during the communications in view of the meeting of the European Council tomorrow and the day after. “Clearly we all understand, and share, the need to contain energy prices which weigh on families and businesses, even in Italy. But we must be aware that the surge in fuel prices is mainly due to the war in Iran, not the conflict in Ukraine. Therefore, the result of this choice is doubtful, while the risks are clear. A legitimation for Moscow while its bombs continue to fall on Ukrainian cities, new revenues with which to finance the war, an implicit weakening of the sanctioning lever: these are elements that we cannot ignore, and which contradict what has been done so far by Western states, including the United States, to push Putin to sit at the negotiating table”. said the Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, in the Senate chamber, during communications in view of the European Council meeting tomorrow and the day after.

“Defending the borders is not a fault”

“Italy has the same duties and rights as other member states. We do not accept that defending the borders is a right for others and a fault when it concerns Italy.” Then the case of Spain: “Italy has decided to temporarily reintroduce controls at the internal air and sea borders with Spain on the basis of a security assessment. I consider the ensuing controversies quite surreal, especially from some opposition parties, evidently more attentive to defending the Spanish government than the security at the Italian borders”, declared the Prime Minister.

“The controversies with Spain are surreal”

“I remember – he added – that the codice Schengen expressly provides for the possibility of temporarily reintroducing internal border controls for public order and security needs. It is a tool used regularly from 2026 to today, member states have used it almost 500 times and furthermore in 30 cases the controls directly concerned Italy”. “France – Meloni further recalled – has maintained controls at the border with us for over 10 years and therefore it is difficult to argue that Italy does not have the right to use a tool that has been used against it dozens of times. Italy has the same duties and rights as other member states. We do not accept that defending the borders is a right for others, it is a fault when it concerns Italy.”

“Italy cannot pay more and receive less”

The Irish Presidency’s proposal keeps the criteria for allocating resources substantially unchanged, which continue to penalize our nation. We cannot accept that Italy pays more to the European budget and, at the same time, receives less. It’s a simple question of fairness.”

“More safety does not mean fewer hospitals”

“I remember that greater flexibility for defense and security essentially means additional resources compared to those allowed by European parameters. It’s not money taken away from healthcare or schools: if we didn’t spend it on defense, we wouldn’t be able to spend it on anything else. Anyone who says that more security means fewer hospitals, resources distracted from essential services by a warmongering government, is lying knowing that they do so”, continued Meloni, in the Senate chamber, during communications in view of the European Council meeting tomorrow and the day after. “Even more so – he added – if the same ones who accuse us today from the opposition, when they were in government approved – in the midst of the pandemic – an increase in military spending of around 15 billion euros. And then there wasn’t even a war in Ukraine.”