Mr President, honourable colleagues,

we are approaching one of the last European Council meetings during this EU legislative term. Having passed the hurdle of the revision of the Multiannual Financial Framework, which was discussed at the last special European Council meeting, a very significant part of the discussions on the agenda for this meeting will focus on the major issues in international politics.

We will of course begin with the situation in Ukraine and Europe’s response to Russia’s aggression. Together with the other European leaders, we will once again reiterate our support for Ukraine. On behalf of Italy, I reaffirmed this support by chairing the first meeting of G7 leaders under the Italian Presidency from Kyiv, on the second, tragic, anniversary of Russia’s brutal invasion and Ukraine’s heroic resistance.

I would like to take this opportunity to say how proud I am of the role our Government played first at December’s European Council meeting, helping to unblock negotiations for Ukraine to begin the European Union accession process, and then at the special meeting of the European Council in February, facilitating a positive outcome precisely on the revision of the Multiannual Financial Framework, which includes an adequate allocation for Ukraine as well as vital resources to address some of the key issues that are of interest to us, from supporting competitiveness through to fighting illegal immigration.

These negotiations were not easy, and probably would not have had this outcome if we had followed the advice of those, some of whom are also in this hall, who have long stated that we should not talk with everyone, but only with a few, as part of some bizarre idea that Europe is divided into ‘major-league’ and ‘minor-league’ nations. It would appear that the winning approach, and the one that is most beneficial to Italy as well as to the common European and Western cause, is instead the one supported by those who, like me, have always considered all European partners to be worthy of respect and consideration.

Remaining on the topic of Ukraine, over the last few days, there has been a lot of discussion about the proposal put forward by France in particular, regarding the possibility for troops from EU nations to directly intervene in Ukraine. I would like to take this opportunity to state once again, also in this hall, as Foreign Minister Tajani has already extensively done, that we are not in any way in favour of such a scenario; we believe this would be indicative of a dangerous escalation, which instead must be avoided at all costs. I hope this Parliament will be united in responding with us on this point.

As I have reiterated several times, also in this hall, supporting Ukraine means protecting our national interest, and our commitment remains above all focused on creating the conditions for a just and lasting peace that respects the dignity of the nation under attack. This is the main purpose behind all of our actions.

And I am surprised, although I perhaps shouldn’t be, that the very people who use the word ‘peace’ the most are those who contested Italy signing a multi-year security cooperation agreement with Ukraine, because the long-term security cooperation we have offered is more about peace than conflict.

The reason is simple: the Ukrainians have pointed out that a fundamental obstacle to any potential negotiations lies in the fact that Russia has, until now, systematically violated signed agreements and international law. Suffice it to say that, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, under the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, Kyiv handed over the numerous nuclear warheads in its possession to Moscow in return for the inviolability of Ukraine’s borders being respected. It is clear to everyone that a nuclear power would not have been invaded by Russia in 2014 and then again in 2022, which is instead what happened, in violation of that Memorandum. So, how can one reasonably sit at a negotiating table with someone who has never honoured their commitments? Hence why international security commitments to Ukraine are an indispensable prerequisite for any peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia.

This is not about committing to supply weapons for the next ten years, as some today are trying to claim. It is instead a multidimensional agreement that follows on from similar agreements signed by other European and Western States and regards comprehensive cooperation, including reconstruction, humanitarian assistance and enhanced political and security cooperation, as is only natural with a State that has embarked on its European Union accession path.
 
That being said, Italy welcomes Sweden and Finland definitively joining the Atlantic Alliance and condemns any aggressive stance by the Russian Federation towards these two allied nations, or indeed towards the Baltic countries. Likewise, we reiterate our condemnation both of sham elections being held on Ukrainian territory and of the events that led to Alexei Navalny’s death in prison; his sacrifice in the name of freedom will not be forgotten.

The European Council will of course also discuss the other dramatic ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. As you know, I have just returned from an official visit to Egypt (and I will be coming back to this later), during which we met with President al-Sisi, together with the President of the European Commission and several European leaders. We discussed the situation in Gaza with President al-Sisi, as well as the need to continue working tirelessly to avoid the conflict spreading, which, as I have already said, would have potentially unimaginable consequences. We are firmly committed to ensuring the European Council can adopt an authoritative position on the crisis and on the contribution Europe can offer to its resolution.

We will once again reiterate our firm condemnation of the brutal attack carried out by Hamas on 7 October and we will again call for the immediate release of all Israeli hostages still being held in Gaza, because we cannot forget who started this conflict, by massacring unarmed citizens, including women and children, and showing the world their desecrated bodies. It was Hamas, and I am underlining that because the increasingly common reticence that can be seen in reiterating this suggests a latent, yet pervasive, anti-Semitism which should be of concern to us all.

We will also reiterate that Israel must exercise its legitimate right to defend itself with proportionality and in accordance with international humanitarian law. We cannot remain indifferent to the huge number of innocent civilian victims in Gaza, who are victims twice over: first of the cynicism of Hamas, who are using them as human shields, and then of Israel’s military operations.

We will reiterate that we are against Israeli military action on the ground in Rafah, which could have even more catastrophic consequences on the civilians amassed in that area; we will stress the need to ensure humanitarian aid can be safely delivered as well as support for the ‘Amalthea’ initiative for a maritime corridor from Cyprus to Gaza, aimed at delivering said aid. This is of course without prejudice to the need to open new routes overland, which remain a priority.

We will confirm our support for the mediation efforts being made, in particular by the United States, Egypt and Qatar, for a lasting ceasefire to allow for the unconditional release of the hostages and substantial amounts of humanitarian aid for the civilian population. With regard to humanitarian assistance, Italy is continuing its tireless work to help the civilian population in Gaza: after sending the ‘Vulcano’ hospital ship and our joint initiatives with Gulf countries in particular, Palestinian children are now also coming to be treated at our main paediatric hospitals, which I wish to thank.

Lastly, the Italian Government looks favourably upon the change in leadership within the Palestinian National Authority, which we hope can allow for the ‘two-State’ solution to be relaunched, in relation to which we continue to deem the launch of concrete initiatives to be a priority and, in this regard, Europe can, and must, play a leading role in our view.

As we know, the conflict between Israel and Hamas is having direct repercussions throughout the Middle East, and we are also concerned about what is happening in the Red Sea. Allow me to first of all express my sincere gratitude to the Italian Navy and to the crew of the Duilio, which is currently in waters off the Red Sea on a high-risk mission to ensure safety and freedom of navigation for our commercial ships. Over the last few days, the Duilio has had to neutralise more than one attack by Houthi drones, and has done so swiftly and effectively, as indeed our Armed Forces always operate.

This is also why Italy has been assigned tactical command of the EU’s Operation Aspides, as per the prompt decision made by the European institutions just a few weeks ago. We all know that the Houthis’ threats and actions form part of a bigger picture in which Iran is unfortunately directly involved with supporting not just the Houthis but also Hamas and Hezbollah, as well as providing drones for Russian operations in Ukraine.

We also know how important that stretch of sea is for our economic and geostrategic interests and how concrete the risk is that the higher costs being incurred by our shipping companies will end up not only undermining their competitiveness but also being passed on to the final prices of goods, leading to another rise in costs for consumers precisely now that inflation is finally falling, and Italy stands out for having the lowest inflation among the G7 economies. 

The situation in the Red Sea also shows us how important it is to have a clear European vision to protect our interests, and a security and defence policy able to match our ambitions and defence needs. During the next European Council meeting, there will in fact be a pressing and delicate discussion on European security and defence. I want to state clearly that Italy is ready to play its part in developing the European defence industry strategy, which the European Commission presented a few days ago.

And frankly speaking, ladies and gentlemen, I think people need to stop being hypocritical on this matter, because allegations of excessive American interference and criticism of a serious national and European defence policy oddly always go hand in hand, but they do not go together. If you ask someone to take care of your security, you have to take into consideration that that someone will carry a lot of weight when it comes to discussing international dynamics. 

Defence spending means investing in our independence, in our ability to count and to decide, and in the possibility we have to best defend our national interests, and this is the path followed by any serious nation. However, if it wants to be serious, this is the path that Europe must follow too. This is also why it will be necessary to discuss in-depth the resources that are required also at EU level in order to make the significant improvements that are needed in the defence sector, and Italy wants to be among the leading players in this debate, supporting also innovative solutions in order for the necessary funding to be provided.

We have always insisted on the need for NATO to have two pillars: one American and one European, with both having equal dignity and equal weighting. However, this also means complying with the stated and agreed commitments, ensuring we have adequate industrial strength and deterrence capacity, without which there can be neither security nor freedom for our peoples. Yes, freedom has a cost, sovereignty has a cost, and don’t believe those who tell you that you can be given everything for free. As we have seen, the result is often that you have to pay a lot more.

The European Union’s security and defence needs are closely linked to the matter of EU enlargement or, to put it better, Europe’s reunification, as we prefer to define it. As you know, Italy has invested a lot in this process, paying particular attention to the Western Balkans. We support the path towards the European Union for all candidates: those in the east (Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia) and the Western Balkans.

In this context, we are ready to once again support the opening of accession negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina, also in light of the European Commission’s recommendation in its relative report. We are convinced that this decision can lead to further and decisive progress by Sarajevo on the path of reform towards the European Union. After all, we have already seen how Bosnia and Herzegovina being granted candidate status in December 2022 led to the country completing more reforms in just over 12 months than it had done in the previous ten years.

The next European Council meeting will also be an opportunity to review Europe’s response with regard to fighting illegal immigration and human trafficking. This issue is now included on the agenda of all meetings, as per Italy’s specific request, in order to keep track of progress through regular updates from the European Commission.

As you know, I just got back from a very significant visit to Egypt together with President of the European Commission von der Leyen, President-in-Office of the Council of the European Union De Croo, President of Cyprus Christodoulides, Austrian Chancellor Nehammer and Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis. This was a very productive meeting that ended with the signing of an EU-Egypt joint declaration for an agreement on “strategic and comprehensive partnership”, undoubtedly marking a step change in relations with this key partner in the Mediterranean. Energy supplies, security and mediation capacity in the Middle East conflict, management of migration flows: these are the main points covered by this joint document, which provides a new framework of reference in relations with this important neighbour.

As you know, Italy has worked very hard to export the ‘Tunisia model’ also to other African nations in the Mediterranean. And, as you also know, Italy had already taken steps in this direction at bilateral level, boosting cooperation with Egypt as part of the Mattei Plan, and we further advanced this cooperation on Sunday with the signing of 14 bilateral agreements. Thanks to this revitalised cooperation and to the sound relations we have cultivated, we have achieved the important result of Patrick Zaki being released from prison. However, contrary to what some have claimed, we have not stopped, and nor do we intend to stop, searching for the truth in the Giulio Regeni case, as can be seen by the ongoing trial in Italy; the Government is following these proceedings very closely and has joined them as a civil claimant.

We continue to believe that long-term and structured cooperation with African and Mediterranean nations is also the most effective way to build a structural solution to the migration problem. The EU-Tunisia agreement, which was strongly supported by the Italian Government and is today yielding results in the very area of migration, shows that we are on the right track. In fact, the latest figures provided by Frontex certify that the number of migrants arriving along the central Mediterranean route fell by approximately 60% in the first months of 2024 compared with the same period last year, with a significant decrease in those coming from Tunisia. I would also like to mention the important fact that there has also been a drastic reduction in those using the route from Türkiye, which has been one of the most critical issues for Italy in recent years.

We are therefore particularly proud that the model of enhanced cooperation with countries in the wider Mediterranean region, which is something our Government has put a lot of energy into over these months, has also become the paradigm of reference for the European Union as a whole. I hope there won’t be ideological or instrumental opposition along the way to implementing the agreement with Egypt, the likes of which we unfortunately witnessed again a few days ago, precisely with regard to Tunisia. We cannot and must not let our guard down with regard to migration. With warmer months on the way, human traffickers may be encouraged to try and intensify their activities. This is why it is crucial to fully implement the ten-point action plan presented by the European Commission, which is currently in the process of being implemented. It is equally as important to expand our cooperation with African countries and with regard to fighting trafficking networks also outside of Europe’s borders. Hence why Africa and migration will also be a focus of Italy’s G7 Presidency and our dual objective is, on the one hand, to increase efforts on the African continent, and, on the other, to launch a global alliance against human traffickers.

This new, all-encompassing and multidimensional approach to the migration challenge, which the European Union has adopted at the urging of Italy, is described well in the communication that has been published by the European Commission ahead of the European Council meeting, outlining developments and prospects for action on the continent. This new approach is also confirmed for the future, in terms of implementing and strengthening all the agreed measures and with a specific and strong focus on the perspective of Mediterranean Member States. All components of this approach are therefore also, and above all, tailored to their needs, to our needs. At the European Council meeting we will advocate for further emphasis on the priority nature of the external dimension for a structural solution to the migration crisis, which for us remains of absolute vital importance.

This European Council meeting will also discuss agriculture (and, allow me to say, finally). This request was put forward by Italy in particular, and we are pleased it has been taken on board. After we had made this request at the last special European Council meeting, a meeting of the AGRIFISH Council was then held on 26 February, during which the Agriculture and Fisheries Ministers of the 27 Member States expressed a strong willingness to take action to support a sector that has been forgotten about for too long or has received not always benevolent attention. The dual pandemic-war crisis has also affected food supply chains and has burdened agricultural enterprises with increased fixed costs, further reducing their profitability. In addition, the bureaucratic burden has been made heavier by the CAP’s green measures, on the one hand, and, on the other, there has been the ideological overkill of many regulations included in the Green Deal, Fit for 55 package and Farm to Fork strategy.

Europe thus woke up to find tractors on its streets, firstly in those countries that had adopted additional national measures that were particularly penalising for the industry, starting with the discontinuation of subsidies for agricultural diesel, which is something Italy chose not to do (it actually extended them). This Government did not need to see tractors in the streets in order to deal with this issue, thanks also to Minister Lollobrigida’s constant dialogue with the industry’s most representative organisations which, in fact, did not take part in the protests, unlike their colleagues and counterparts in France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, the Netherlands and many others.

I am proud that our Government has so far been the one to invest the most in agriculture in the history of the Italian Republic, earmarking up to EUR 8 billion for the agricultural sector thanks to the much-reviled revision of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP). This was a strategic choice, in addition to which the Government has also introduced many other important measures over the last 17 months, which Parliament discussed a few weeks ago.

The latest measure regards the issue of IRPEF [personal income tax] for farmers, which was also raised by some protestors, albeit marginally. We are proud of the choice not to exempt larger-scale enterprises that can afford it from paying the IRPEF for farmers, opting instead to focus resources for the agricultural sector on those who really need them, not only by exempting them from IRPEF payments but also by providing further, concrete support measures. Above all, famers and fishers alike know that, since day one, at EU level, our Government has opposed the ideological vision of the green transition that identified farmers, fishers and economic operators working in contact with nature as enemies to be targeted in the name of the ‘holy war’ against climate change. We believe instead that farmers are the first environmentalists; they are caretakers par excellence of the environment, they guarantee our food security and have the greatest interest in preserving nature, given that nature is how they earn their living, and, as such, they must be fully involved in policies to reduce emissions because, if we weigh them down with unsustainable economic and bureaucratic burdens to the point that their businesses are pushed out of the market and forced to close, then the next day that piece of our rural environment will be abandoned to neglect and, in the end, this will cause more damage.

This very Government presented a document on this subject, which was met with the support of all Agriculture Ministers. We now hope that the discussions over the coming days will result in strong recommendations for the European Commission and for the subsequent AGRIFISH Council meeting to be held on 26 March, especially in certain areas. We welcomed the European Commission’s announcement that it would definitively be withdrawing the legislative proposal on pesticides, which had been rejected first by the European Parliament and then by the European Council.

It is now urgent to first of all take action regarding implementation of the Common Agricultural Policy. I think you can all agree with me on the fact that, when we all supported the old CAP, the context was very different to the one we have today. Firstly, there still hadn’t been the shock following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and, secondly, the Common Agricultural Policy that was voted was nevertheless the result of mediation with respect to the crazy demands put forward by the then Vice-President Timmermans, who wanted the CAP to be even more weighted towards green measures, so much so that he wanted it to include the Green Deal emission reduction targets. These demands did not come to fruition then, but they did so later on when the eco-schemes and green conditionality requirements were drawn up, and this is precisely where we should start, by simplifying procedures as much as possible and by retroactively eliminating the obligation to set aside 4% of land as well as the crop rotation obligation, which would significantly limit our companies’ productivity.

The European Commission’s recent proposal for an extensive revision of the CAP goes in the right direction, taking up many of Italy’s proposals. It is now important to work quickly on the reform, starting with the next Agriculture and Fisheries Council meeting at the end of March. We are working to ensure that other Italian proposals are taken into consideration, such as the extension of the temporary framework for State aid, providing in any case for an increase in the ‘de minimis’ regime, as well as a debt moratorium for agricultural enterprises. In such a difficult context, it is essential to: bolster our response to unfair competition by third countries, asserting the principle of reciprocity; conduct future negotiations on free trade agreements, starting with the Mercosur agreement, with a greater focus on agriculture; take action also with regard to agricultural imports from Ukraine to ensure that the sacrosanct efforts that have led to Grain Initiative corridors being reinstated are directed towards the third countries that are most in need of grain and other raw materials, and do not produce further downward pressure on competition to the detriment of European producers.

Lastly, another important matter is that we are still in a phase of uneven distribution of value along supply chains, especially in certain sectors. As well as the work the Government can do in terms of moral suasion with all players involved, it will be important to strengthen the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, which can help to ensure fair prices for our agricultural enterprises.

In closing, I would like to take the opportunity of this parliamentary debate to share with you my satisfaction regarding the outcome of negotiations on the new packaging and packaging waste regulation. I am proud of the result that has been achieved and I am proud of the great teamwork that was carried out by Italy’s entire economic system: the Government, businesses, trade associations, the national Parliament and MEPs from different parties, with the support of our officials in Brussels, all rowed in the same direction in order to safeguard a circular economy model par excellence that has been developed over the years thanks to the extraordinary contribution of so many of our enterprises and Italian citizens.

All Italians, and not just those working in the field, should know that, thanks to this teamwork (which the entire Government, starting with myself, has been dedicated to and that, for once, also saw us fighting side by side with members of the opposition), we have secured a significant percentage of our GDP, combining sustainability and competitiveness.

I want to cite this, and I shall now conclude, as a shining example and model for the future, because when Italy has great stories to tell and sound reasons to defend and, above all, when it manages to put the national interest before party interests, then there is nothing it cannot do.

Thank you.

[Courtesy translation]