Good afternoon everyone.
We have had a long, fruitful and cordial bilateral meeting today (our first with a Prime Minister of an EU Member State here in Italy) with the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, with whom there is already a historical relationship within the European Council. This is a very fruitful period for the bilateral relations between Italy and the Netherlands, confirmed also by the recent visit by President of the Republic Mattarella.
During our first opportunities to work together, we have shared a very concrete and very pragmatic approach to the main issues under discussion at the European Parliament with Prime Minister Rutte. Even though the positions of our two countries, with respect for each other’s national interests, are not always exactly the same, I wish to say that I have found myself working with a clear-headed, pragmatic and concrete person who wants to find solutions. This is the same approach that Italy is taking and this is also something we discussed today. I am thinking of the issue of migration - one of the most complicated issues on the European agenda. During the last European Council meeting, we had a very pragmatic discussion with Mark Rutte, and perhaps some were surprised that, when we entered the European Council meeting, we had a shared vision about the fact that Europe must address this problem as a European issue and that it had to do so not by having primary movements versus secondary movements, but rather by starting with defending external borders and therefore fighting traffickers. As far as Italy is concerned, and I hope not just Italy, this is an issue that has become even more significant and important following the tragedy that happened in Cutro. The Council of Ministers will hold a meeting on this tomorrow for the very purpose of addressing the migration issue. As you know, and as Prime Minister Rutte knows, I wrote a letter about this to the top European institutions: to President von der Leyen, to President Michel and to President-in-Office of the European Council Kristersson.
I am satisfied with the reply that arrived from the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, as it takes into consideration and reiterates the conclusions from the last European Council meeting, confirming a change of approach regarding the migration issue: the awareness that this is a European problem and must be addressed at European level; the awareness of the need to fight human trafficking and the traffickers, also to save people’s lives; cooperation with African nations. This is also something we discussed with Prime Minister Rutte: we agree on this and we believe that the next European Council meeting at the end of the month must make concrete progress on the migration issue, especially with regard to the Central Mediterranean route and cooperation with African countries.
Also with regard to the economic matters to be discussed at the next European Council meeting, dialogue between Italy and the Netherlands is essential, as indeed it was during the last EUCO meeting. As you know, Italy hopes for courageous responses in this regard, which, for us, means above all flexibility in the use of existing funds in order not to create disparities within the single market when opting to take action regarding a relaxation of State aid rules. The debate on governance rules will then begin, in relation to which I believe the choices we are making to help our enterprises must also be taken into consideration. We believe that the new governance rules, in particular the Stability and Growth Pact, must take the issue of balance between stability and growth more into consideration, as both are necessary. 
Together with Prime Minister Rutte, we also spoke about Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Our two nations are at the forefront of support for Ukraine, so, from this point of view, we are absolutely on the same side and have discussed how to implement, to better coordinate, our comprehensive assistance to Ukraine, which will continue at both bilateral and multilateral level. 
Mark and I also discussed the bilateral relations between Italy and the Netherlands. We discussed the fight against organised crime in relation to which I am very proud of the fact that the Netherlands sees the Italian model in the fight against the mafia as being a reference model. However, today we know that this is an international issue, that networks are expanding and lengthening, making it essential to have cooperation also, and above all, at international level. We are ready to work together on this. 
Our economic relations are very strong: we are talking about over EUR 43 billion in trade, a figure that improved in 2022. The Netherlands is the biggest investor in Italy; more than 500 Italian companies operate in Holland, counting over 16,000 employees. We believe we have margins for growth in many sectors as part of our bilateral relationship: I am thinking of infrastructure, renewable energy, space; the frontiers of strategic choices are all frontiers we are both involved in. We also intend to collaborate in the sector of defence; our relations and cooperation have so far been very fruitful and very strong in this area and, clearly, given the current international situation, it is increasingly important that we are united on these matters.
I therefore wish to thank Mark for this visit; I thank him for his courtesy and for his pragmatism. I am very pleased about the fact that together we are able to find concrete solutions to the strategic and key issues of our time. 
Thank you Mark.

[Courtesy translation]