French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni met in Rome for a three-hour talk aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation and establishing a shared vision for the future of Europe, Reuters reported, quoted by News.bg.
The meeting aimed to ease tensions between the two countries, caused by differences over the war in Ukraine, trade policy and interaction with the United States.
In a joint statement, Macron and Meloni stressed the importance of the competitiveness and sustainable prosperity of the European economy. They agreed on coordinated actions in key industrial and technological sectors - automotive, steel, artificial intelligence, renewable energy and space exploration. The leaders said Europe must ensure a level playing field for its companies in the global economic race.
Support for Ukraine and differences in approach
The two leaders reaffirmed their "unwavering and uncompromising" support for Ukraine. However, Giorgia Meloni expressed reservations about Macron's proposal to send peacekeeping forces to Ukraine after a possible peace agreement - an idea that is strongly opposed in Italian society, especially due to sensitivities to military intervention.
Meloni was criticized for her absence from a visit to Kiev in May, when Macron and other European leaders demonstrated solidarity with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. However, representatives of both countries stressed that it was the French president who initiated the current meeting in Rome as a gesture of respect and a desire to restart the dialogue.
Geopolitical concerns in the Mediterranean
Both France and Italy have expressed concern about the possible strengthening of Russian influence in eastern Libya, which could lead to strategic control over parts of the Mediterranean. This concern has intensified after the fall from power of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a long-time ally of Moscow.
At the end of the meeting, Macron and Meloni agreed to organize a new bilateral summit in France in early 2026, as a continuation of the commitment to closer coordination within the European Union and beyond.