Rome Even before his visit to Rome, Olaf Schulz showed tolerance: In an interview with Corriere della Sera that appeared on Thursday morning, he spoke of the close, trusting and “very resilient” relationship between Italy and Germany . He and Giorgia Meloni will “cooperate very well” at EU, NATO and G7 levels.
The head of the Italian government tried to convey the same impression when they appeared before the media at Palazzo Chigi on Thursday afternoon, along with the federal prime minister.
Whether on industrial policy, energy supply or geopolitics: “Cancelliere Scholz” (as she calls him) and “Chancellor” (as he always calls her) work together – not against each other.
Even Lufthansa’s recent agreement to join Italian state carrier Ita, which Meloni has long opposed with national pride, she now hails as “proof that the national interests of both countries” can also coincide at a strategic level. “Ci vediamo presto,” we’ll meet again soon, Meloni said finally, smiling at Scholz. “We’re always together, on all the mountains.”
It wasn’t clear for a long time that the pair’s relationship would reach such a level of rapport. When the 46-year-old won general elections in September and formed a right-wing coalition led by her post-fascist Fratelli d’Italia party, serious doubts were cast over the future of Europe’s third-largest economy.
Autumn bilateral government consultations – first since 2016
For a long time, Melonis avoided an initial visit to Germany. In February, she received a military honor – a long-sensitive detail among Bundestag members and diplomats. Isn’t that the ever-present question of whether the leader of a radical party can get such a stage?
“Ci vediamo presto”, we will meet again soon.
(Photo: ddp/ZUMA)
But no matter how much Meloni hated the EU during the campaign, or portrayed her country in her biography as a victim of the “Franco-German axis”, she has been surprisingly pragmatic since taking office. With few exceptions, she is statesmanlike, pro-European, cooperative, and behaves in full line with her predecessor, Mario Draghi, on foreign and financial policy.
She backed away from costly election promises, and debt ratios continued to fall under her leadership. Meloni has pledged Italy’s full support for Ukraine, even visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev in person, and explicitly tamping down pro-Russian voices from his allies Alliance and Forza Italia.
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Schulz and Meloni also restarted the German-Italian Action Plan. The Federal Chancellor has announced that the first bilateral government consultations since 2016 will be held in the autumn – followed by the signing of the action plan in Germany.
The agreement, drawn up under Draghi’s leadership, aims to boost cooperation between the two countries in key industries such as battery production. “We want to strengthen and deepen the bilateral dialogue,” Meloni said. It addresses topics such as innovation, the labor market, climate protection, and more. The two governments recently agreed on a pipeline project to transport green hydrogen from North Africa via Italy to Germany.
Stability Pacts and Migration Discrepancies
One issue on which the two still disagree is reform of the Stability and Growth Pact, whose rules have been softened significantly by the coronavirus pandemic. For Meloni, what is needed is a “new stability pact, very focused on supporting growth,” she explained. It is important to have “flexible fiscal rules”. Germany explicitly opposes loosening debt rules.
Another bone of contention is immigration. “We’re working hard to find a solution,” Meloni said. But it is also important to pay attention to the needs of the most stressed countries. Scholz countered that 80 percent of all asylum seekers who arrived in Germany in the past year had not previously been registered in another country — Germany has no direct border with the country of origin. Primary migration and secondary migration are closely related here. “Bitter finger pointing doesn’t help, only working together,” Scholz said.
Schulz: “Immigrants need European solutions”
But then they all called on other EU governments to agree on reforms to asylum rules. Scholz hopes the interior secretary will reach a deal on Thursday – “or very soon at the latest”. The chancellor also reiterated his offer to the countries of origin of the refugees to reach an agreement on legal immigration to Germany.
Recently, Italy arrested two German volunteer sea rescue ships for failing to comply with new stricter regulations introduced by the Meloni government. Helpers speak of harassment – and protest the measures, which they say endanger human life in the Mediterranean. When asked, Meloni admitted that the two did not discuss the topic. Perhaps that affected the newly acquired harmony too much.
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