President Meloni: I think that Italy can be very satisfied with the results of this European Council meeting. We had worked hard, and very well, on the draft conclusions and the Council’s discussions did not lead to changes regarding the major and most important topics. So, with regard to economic matters, there is the call for implementation, in particular, of the element we are most interested in: flexibility regarding cohesion funds and NRRP [National Recovery and Resilience Plan] funds.

The issue of governance, which is of fundamental importance for us, must be resolved by the end of this year and must take into account the European Union’s strategic objectives – the EU’s work on the ecological transition, its work on the digital transition, its support for Ukraine; those investments must be taken into consideration in the governance rules. It seems to me that, also in this regard, there is a widespread awareness.

With regard to the migration issue, as you have seen, the conclusions of this meeting not only confirm the step change we pushed for at the last European Council meeting, but also show that, today, migration remains a priority and one of the European Union’s major objectives: implementation of the objectives we decided on at the last meeting has been called for, and progress will be checked at the next European Council meeting in June.

Work is therefore ongoing, showing that this was not a one-off or simply a stand-alone initiative. We are clearly working on concrete instruments with results that objectively seem to be very good to me, showing good faith in the willingness to address this matter.
I would therefore say that, overall, we are satisfied with the work we have done.
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Question: With regard to the ESM, the President of the Eurogroup has said that he expects ratification also for the stability of the system. When do you think you will ratify it?
President Meloni: I have already replied on this. I believe this matter must be discussed downstream, not upstream, and in the context in which it operates. From this point of view, the reference to governance is not coincidental, and nor is the reference to other instruments that are also more effective in the current context. We discussed the banking union this morning. Regarding a backstop, for example, the ESM is a kind of ‘court of cassation’, with the banking union being the court of first and second instance. This reasoning can only be discussed within an overall framework.
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Question: Can you help us to understand the view expressed today by the President of the ECB, Christine Lagarde, regarding the turbulence still affecting the banking sector? Was the case of Deutsche Bank mentioned and is there concern among leaders about possible contagion?
President Meloni: Based on the reports by President Lagarde and President Donohoe and the contributions by EU leaders, there seems to me to be an awareness that the system in any case has solid fundamentals. Monitoring is certainly needed and we need to implement, for example, the banking union and the capital markets union, as we were saying; work needs to be done on governance, but not because, over the last few days, we believe the framework can be changed, but quite simply because the system needs elements that are currently missing to make it fully strong and able to have an impact. I don’t see any particular concern about a system whose fundamentals are objectively stable and solid.
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Question: You saw President Macron yesterday evening, following a period of relations not always being easy. Starting with this meeting, could there be greater cooperation on economic matters and on migration? 
President Meloni: I absolutely think so. It was a very long and very wide-ranging meeting, and we also looked at the undoubtedly complex geopolitical situation we are all experiencing. There seems to me to be a willingness to cooperate on matters that are in any case of strategic importance, certainly for Italy and for France: I am thinking of the migration issue, in relation to which I noted a great readiness by President Macron to address this matter in a structural way, and also industrial issues; so, on a number of matters where the national interests of France and Italy can coincide. The atmosphere seemed to me to be very productive, very favourable; I believe this can certainly be useful to address a number of common challenges.
I am satisfied with this bilateral, as indeed I am with the other bilateral meetings I’ve had over the last few hours, with the Portuguese Prime Minister, for example, and with the Prime Minister of Greece. Italy has a central, leading role of which I am proud, and this shows that we can certainly count and assert our interests more, trying to find a harmony with others’ interests, which are more than legitimate, as indeed are our own.
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Question: The opposition is criticising you for not defining the victims of the Fosse Ardeatine massacre as anti-fascist [inaudible].
President Meloni: I defined them as Italians. What does this mean, that anti-fascists are not Italian? From a historical point of view, it seems all-encompassing to me.
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Question: Is the biofuel battle lost?
President Meloni: No, the biofuel matter is not lost at all. In the meantime, the matter of technological neutrality has been successfully settled, which is the condition for recognising biofuels. I believe the issue of technological neutrality is the most important thing, i.e., establishing the principle whereby, without prejudice to the targets (which we agree with and are ready to meet), the technologies to be used to reach said targets must not be an imposed dogma, but must rather be part of an overall assessment, also based on the technologies that each nation has available. I have found a lot of agreement on this aspect, also with France for example, which is raising the technological neutrality question regarding other factors. We are then also showing that biofuel respects zero emissions, so there is not even the need to specify it technically, because if the technology meets those targets, then that technology can be used. So, I think things are going well also in this regard,  with discussions, exchanges of views and in-depth analysis. Compared with the initial text, the work being done to recognise technological neutrality is already a victory. 
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Question: But if Germany reaches its agreement, which seems to be imminent, it will in fact be impossible for Italy to form a blocking minority [inaudible]
President Meloni: No, in my view this reconstruction is not fully accurate, in the sense that Germany is above all working on chemical fuels and wants to be certain, according to how I see it, that the necessary checks are carried out. This is correct, just as we are asking about biofuels; we are substantially doing the same thing: this is why there was alignment between us and Germany, trying not to say that electric is the only option, but rather that there are other options too, such as hydrogen, biofuels, chemical fuels, that must be looked into further. Germany has maintained this position, we have maintained this position; let’s see what will happen with chemical fuels and we will show that biofuel can also be a zero-emission technology. With technological neutrality being recognised, everything is covered. 
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Question: Will there be an Italian-French mission in Tunisia?
President Meloni: Yes, there will be. There is a mission at Foreign Minister level. There are a number of them that are now moving towards Tunisia, and I am happy about that because I raised the issue of Tunisia, also during the European Council meeting. Perhaps not everyone is aware of the risks being taken regarding Tunisia and of the need to support the stability of a nation with severe financial problems; if we do not sufficiently address those problems, this objectively risks causing an unprecedented wave of migration. So there is certainly a lot of commitment on this. I also spoke about this with Commissioner Gentiloni, who will be there in the coming days to try and do what the Commission can, what the European Union can, even though, upstream, the fundamental issue is the International Monetary Fund.  Diplomatic efforts are needed to convince both parties, the International Monetary Fund and the Tunisian Government, to reach an agreement to stabilise the region financially.
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Question: So you don’t believe in some form of European macroeconomic assistance?
President Meloni: European macroeconomic assistance is included in the work of the International Monetary Fund, within the same package. Paolo Gentiloni will certainly talk about this but, upstream, it is very important that the International Monetary Fund unblocks [the situation]. I then believe there are other possible investments to be done in Tunisia, but these are more infrastructure investments than financial investments, in relation to which the IMF’s role remains very important.
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Question: Are there risks regarding the disbursement of the next instalment of NRRP funds? 
President Meloni: No, I do not see any risks at all. Very serious, very collaborative work is going on. We inherited a situation that certainly requires us to work very quickly, which is what we are doing together with the Commission. I just spoke with Ursula von der Leyen. It seems to me that the Commission very much appreciates the serious work that Italy is doing in this regard. We are sharing all the decisions being made. I do not see any risks.
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Question: With regard to appointments, is there some tension with your allies, in particular with the Lega party?
President Meloni: No, there is no tension regarding appointments. Also on this, we are working in a very serious manner, despite the rather, if I may, amusing reconstructions about this matter that I read every day. We are trying to carry out this task while looking at Italy’s national interest, because the companies we are talking about are very important for our system, for our credibility. Yes, there are comprehensive discussions, and these regard the merit of the individuals and the matter at hand.
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Question: I wanted to ask you about nuclear energy: do you agree with France’s position?
President Meloni: I agree with the position on technological neutrality, so yes. I think that all technologies that can guarantee the European Union’s objectives must be recognised, regardless of what individual Member States intend to then do in using that technology, so regardless of what may then be Italy’s choice on nuclear energy. If other nations want to use a technology that respects certain targets, then I believe it is right that they are able to do so.
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Question: So, you are against the ban on combustion engines [inaudible]. What is the biggest problem from combustion engines on your perspective?
President Meloni: The problem is that we cannot help the environment destroying our industries. So we need a stability between environmental sustainability, economic sustainability, social sustainability, and I think that Europe can do that, that we can put all these things together and that is what we are working on.

Question: Is France aligned with Italy regarding the Stability Pact, about separating strategic investments?
President Meloni: It seems to me that there is broad alignment on this matter, but quite simply because, as I said before, the rules are needed to support a strategy. If we give ourselves a strategy and the strategy is the dual transition, and also regards geopolitical matters and support for Ukraine, then rules must be envisaged that support those choices, otherwise we risk having a stunted Union that is unable to give the best responses to Member States regarding the objectives it has set together with those Member States. 
Thank you and I wish you all the best with your work. Goodbye.
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