Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has had difficulty convincing her Polish and Hungarian counterparts to approve the agreement on migrants, as the two leaders, who typically have close ties with her, appear to want to focus more on national interests.
EU leaders failed to adopt conclusions on migration at the most recent EU Council summit as Poland and Hungary did not give their approval.
To sway both countries, EU Council President Charles Michel suggested Meloni – who is allied with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and his Hungarian counterpart, Viktor Orban – attempt a further three-way negotiation to convince them to soften on the migration dossier.
“I tried to mediate to the last”, Meloni explained, noting the failure.
“I am never disappointed by those who defend the interests of their nations. The question posed by Poles and Hungarians is not a peregrine one. They are the two countries that are taking care of Ukrainian refugees the most. They do it with EU resources that are not sufficient”, she explained.
“Their position does not concern the external dimension, which is the Italian priority and the only way to deal with migration, by bringing everyone together”, she added.
The agreement EU ministers reached at the start of June – except Poland and Hungary – envisaged the obligation of “mandatory” solidarity and, therefore, the willingness to relocate or to pay a fine of €20,000 for each migrant not resettled.
Morawiecki wished “good luck” to Meloni, with whom he agreed to disagree.
“I have no reservations about my friend Giorgia, and I am satisfied with the role she has played because she has always tried to find a compromise”, but “we agreed that we do not agree” on the migrant issue, while “we do on everything else”.
“I wish her luck with this pact. I don’t think it’s the solution because it doesn’t address the root of the problem, but I don’t comment on the Italian government’s prerogatives and assessments, ” the Polish PM added.
At the end of the year, Poland will go to elections, which will be crucial for Europe. Challenging Morawiecki will be ex-Polish PM Donald Tusk, whose party is the European People’s Party (EPP), same as Forza Italia – who is allied with Meloni in Italy.
The EPP and the ECR Conservatives – the group in the European Parliament of which Meloni is president – are working on an alliance given the EU elections in June 2024.
Should Morawiecki lose the elections, it could end the alliance with Meloni, who will lose a difficult ally and bring her party a step closer to the centre.
(Federica Pascale | EURACTIV.it)
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