Speaking to reporters on the margins of the Informal European Council in Agia Napa, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said she believed NATO must remain united and be strengthened, and that its European pillar must complement rather than replace its American counterpart. "I believe that NATO must remain united, I believe that we must work to strengthen it and to support the European pillar of NATO, which of course must be complementary to the American one," she said.
Energy rises above defence on Italy's agenda
On the relationship between defence spending and the worsening energy situation, Meloni acknowledged a shift in her priorities without abandoning her previous positions.
"Defence spending remains important, but there is also the problem of energy. It is clear that this entire issue takes precedence. I am not changing my positions, but I am adapting them to a reality that is changing," she said.
She had earlier called for more ambition from EU institutions on the energy file.
"We need the courage to prevent a crisis, and not only to respond when the crisis has fully materialised," she said.
State aid and fiscal rules
Meloni also weighed in on the ongoing debate over relaxing EU state aid rules, describing the discussion as "absolutely reasonable," though she acknowledged the complexity arising from differences between member states.
"We need to see which sectors it will concern, bearing in mind that there are many differences among member states," she said, citing tax rebate arrangements as one example of those divergences.
She added that she did not consider herself alone within the European Council on this position.
On Trump and Putin
Asked whether she had spoken recently with US President Donald Trump, Meloni said relations with the United States remained strong, but that she had not taken any initiative on that front. On the question of whether Russian President Vladimir Putin should be invited to the G20 summit, she was unequivocal:
"At this stage, it is the Russian president who must take a step toward us, and not the other way around."
Source: AMNA