Giuseppe Conte feels "more homogeneously supported by the political forces of the current ruling majority" in his "critical but constructive" approach to Europe. And this "facilitates it in the dialogue with the other countries of the Union". At the bilateral meeting with Angela Merkel at Villa Doria Pamphilj, the President of the Council claims a personal "continuity of European positions" in both the presiding governments, but underlines the new context in which he finds himself acting. And the first visit to Italy of the chancellor since he is at Palazzo Chigi is there to prove it.
The message of the summit is that Italy and Germany are side by side in the common goal of contributing to the revival of Europe. And if sometimes they do not share the same solutions, the important thing is to work in the same direction to prevent the emergence of disintegrating forces.
If they do not bring concrete results, the talks reveal strong convergences and interesting developments: a German promise to cooperate on the Ilva issue in Taranto, also to identify technologically advanced solutions and more generally to think about the future of European steel; the renewal of Merkel's commitment to work again "for a more equitable sharing of migrants" and the confirmation of Italian support for the German initiative for a Berlin conference on Libya.
"We are actively working for the success of the conference, which has as its first objective the ceasefire", said Conte, according to which in Libya "the military option cannot guarantee any sustainable solution". However, diplomatic sources recall that as long as the US administration does not clarify its ambiguity about Libya, it is unlikely that any stabilization effort will succeed.
An important recognition to Italy, albeit within a German position that remains unclear, Merkel does so on the subject of banks. German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz broke a taboo in recent days, saying yes to European deposit insurance, a missing pillar of the banking union, albeit not backed by a common fund and binding it to very strict conditions. Among these, strong limits or even the prohibition for European banks to hold government bonds, to reduce risks. A constraint that seems to be aimed directly at Italy and which has raised criticisms from Finance Minister Roberto Gualtieri. Yesterday Merkel confirmed that the proposal has not yet been adopted by the federal government, but acknowledged that on reducing the risks of the banking system, Italy has "made considerable progress". The chancellor said that the banking union is "fundamental to guarantee the stability of the euro". Conte echoed this, recalling however that the banking and monetary union system should be strengthened "in all its components and in a balanced way".
Another convergence, this directly in opposition to the French president Emmanuel Macron, Italy and Germany record on the strategic theme of the enlargement of the EU to the countries of the western Balkans. "We share the same strategic vision – says Merkel – especially for the opening of accession negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia", which Macron blocked at the last European summit. Attention, warns the chancellor with a veiled reference to the Balkan ambitions of Putin's Russia, if Europe does not, "the void will be filled by others and this is not in the strategic European interest".
But in the privacy of the dinner, some controversial notes also enter. "The vision of Berlin for Europe finds Italy in agreement, but it is not possible for every idea of development and greater integration to end when it means that Germany has to pay one euro more to the community budget", explains a source diplomatic.
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