“Von der Leyen? We’ll see after the vote. I want a different Europe” –

European defense, international tensions, the crux of the candidacy for the presidency of the European Commission. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, speaking to journalists in Brussels after the European Council, explains: “I very much agree with the Commission’s initiative to strengthen the defense industry, after which we must also take into account the resources that I am available. The proposal to broaden the mandate of the European Investment Bank finds a lot of consensus, it is a step forward, in my opinion we can take some further steps forward but it is certainly an ongoing debate.” In short, “there is talk of greater coordination” on defense “even if the issue of resources remains open”. At the end of the Council, Meloni also responded to a question on the words of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban regarding Vladimir Putin’s victory in the Russian elections. “It’s not a matter on the agenda but I don’t share those wishes, you know my position on the matter”.

Before the names, the contents. “Is Ursula von der Leyen still a good candidate for the presidency of the European Commission? This is a debate that I am not passionate about. I belong to that type of politician who waits to see how Italians vote before deciding who should do what. There are candidates, after which the Europeans will vote, after the vote we will see what the weights are and we will see what can be done, so it is not an issue that I am passionate about”, declared Meloni. “I think that the Europe of tomorrow must be very different from that of today in terms of its relationship with its ability to impact competitiveness and with a much less ideological approach. Today, unfortunately, we are realizing this and we see a Europe that slowly slowly goes back on all the battles he has fought in recent years, for example on the ability to reconcile ecological sustainability with economic and social sustainability”.

On international tensions on the winds of war involving the West, Meloni said: “It is obvious that no one faces a season like this lightly, but I have not seen a different climate from previous European Councils in terms of concerns about possible escalation or let’s get ‘Put your helmet on and let’s go fight.’ “These reconstructions amazed me, then reading the text of the conclusions I understood what they could have generated, but it was corrected precisely because that was not the intention,” said Meloni.