Good evening everyone.

Thank you Nikos, and congratulations for the success of this initiative and for the intelligent way it has been organised, as this event clearly comes at a very delicate moment in time. We are also in a somewhat particular place: we are in Paphos, just 400km from Gaza as the crow flies, and there is an even shorter distance separating us from Lebanon.

Clearly also considering the escalation we are witnessing, the Middle East issue was of course at the top of the agenda of our discussions and working sessions. I think the presence of His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan was particularly valuable, as his leadership as an interlocutor is extremely precious and important for each of us in terms of mediation and the pursuit of peace. Jordan and this leadership have also played a crucial role over the last weeks and months in all aspects of our humanitarian work. As you know, Italy has been carrying out the ‘Food for Gaza’ initiative, for example, which would not have been possible without Jordan’s contribution. The King has some very interesting ideas and, as always, Italy has also guaranteed its support.

As has already been said in all the other statements, and I shan’t dwell on things that have been widely reiterated, the most significant and important part of these discussions with our Med9 colleagues, and also with the King of Jordan, centres around how a ceasefire can be reached in Gaza and Lebanon together with the release of the Israeli hostages of whom, as you know, there are still many, and of course how to best help the civilian populations involved. These are all preconditions for any lasting solution to the Middle East issue. We are all aware of the principle of two peoples in two states. 

The Italian Government is also following the situation of the contingent in Lebanon very closely. The Italian military personnel serving in the UN mission and in the bilateral MIBIL mission carry out crucial work that is invaluable for the area’s stabilisation. As you know, the UNIFIL mission’s headquarters and two Italian bases came under fire from Israeli forces, and so also as Italy I must once again condemn what happened; it is unacceptable and violates the provisions of United Nations Resolution 1701. As you know, the Italian Government has strongly protested to the Israeli authorities. In this regard, together with Emmanuel and Pedro, so with France and Spain, we have also decided to draw up a joint statement.

Also with regard to Lebanon, we are working with our colleagues to organise an initiative during the G7 defence ministers’ meeting to be held in a few days’ time, involving also the other nations that have participated over the last years, to implement our joint efforts to strengthen the Lebanese armed forces. As you are aware, Italy has been working on this issue for a long time, and is not alone on this.

As has been said, we also talked about the Mediterranean. I would also like to thank Ursula von der Leyen for introducing a portfolio dedicated to this matter which is of such fundamental importance, also for Italy. For us, this is a strategic priority, especially for this Government. 

We are paying very close attention to the future pact for the Mediterranean, which is based on the European Union’s new, equal partnership approach towards its southern neighbourhood, which as you know Italy has always supported; this approach is also closely linked to the issue of managing migration flows. Over the last two years, the European Union has changed its approach to the management of migration flows, thanks also to the work carried out by the Med9, and thanks also to the work carried out by Italy.

The figures show that this new approach is working. It is obviously of fundamental importance to be concrete and decisive, to combat mass illegal immigration with increasing effectiveness and to continue working on this completely different cooperation approach with the nations of origin and of transit.

We also discussed other initiatives today, including innovative ones. The agreement between Italy and Albania, which everyone is aware of by now, will become operational over the next few days probably, and it intends to be precisely that: an innovative solution to manage migration flows and fight human traffickers. So, this is undoubtedly also very important.

We discussed European competitiveness. This issue is crucial for Europe’s future and I believe the time has come to turn words into action. We need to become more independent, simplify our regulatory framework, relaunch investments, especially private investments, and speed up in strategic sectors such as high-tech, defence and agriculture.

We are aware of all these strategies and what our goals are. The real point that now needs to be discussed is how to achieve these goals: what resources and instruments are needed.

It is clearly crucial to have a vision, but visions are of little use without the courage to then provide the instruments needed to implement them.  Thank you.

[Courtesy translation]