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At the 36th Italian-French summit in Antibes, Macron and Meloni reaffirmed the strategic cooperation between the two countries, signed 7 agreements and expressed common positions on energy, Ukraine and economic development, while the Italian Prime Minister criticized the statements of NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte, regarding Iran...
"Italy and France are indispensable partners. This is the meaning of the Quirinale Treaty that we signed ," declared French President Emmanuel Macron at the end of the 36th Italy-France Summit, held in Antibes.
While Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni stressed that "without Italy and France, Europe and the West would not be what they are."
This was a long-awaited summit that had been postponed several times. An official meeting between Italy and France had been missing since 2020, when Macron visited Naples shortly before the imposition of the lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Its organization took time due to the difficulties in the two leaders' agendas and some political disagreements. However, in the end Macron and Meloni appeared together, relaunching the Italian-French axis, which traditionally relies on the economy, but now also on major issues of international politics, without hiding the differences in positions that have existed in the past and that may reappear.
"I believe that the cooperation between Italy and France shows that our relations have not been frozen, but relations between serious people who talk about politics ," said Meloni, adding "we defend our national interests, but we also know how to work together."
Macron expressed himself along the same lines: "we all live under the same climate, which is warm; there is nothing frozen between us. We defend the interests of our countries, but we do so with respect and commitment."
Between mutual greetings of "dear Giorgia" and "Emmanuel", as well as the phrases "I completely agree" and "I couldn't have said it better", Meloni and Macron displayed a personal understanding based on sincerity. This cooperation was materialized with seven signed agreements and understandings on several key issues for the development of the two countries within the European Union, including nuclear energy.
"Today it is more necessary than ever to strengthen energy independence. France made a clear choice in favor of nuclear energy years ago and with Italy we will cooperate on the development of a new type of civil reactor," Macron said.
The Italian company Edison signed, together with EDF, Nuward and the operators of the Italian nuclear industry, a declaration of intent for the joint development of a third-generation European nuclear plant, based on Nuward's Small Modular Reactor (SMR) technology. The aim is to have the first plants operational by 2035.
Meloni also thanked Macron for the success of the G7 summit in Evian, appreciating that it marked a new alignment of the West, especially due to the closer American stance in support of Ukraine.
The problems, according to her, began after the Evian summit, when NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte made unexpected statements implying that Italy had assisted the United States' attack on Iran.
Meloni used the press conference in Antibes to clarify this issue once again.
"We have not participated in the conflict with Iran. Otherwise, the disappointment expressed several times by the American president would not be explained. We have respected our commitments, making the bases available only for logistical and technical activities," she said.
She added: "in his, let's call it, overly enthusiastic reconstruction, the NATO Secretary General has lumped together different issues, confusing the types of flights that were authorized (...). I don't know how this simplified interpretation came about. Perhaps it was an attempt to better prepare for the NATO summit, but in any case I believe that prudence should be shown when talking about such issues."
The Antibes summit, together with the Business Forum held in Le Cannet, brought agreements in a wide range of areas: from nuclear energy and the space sector, to the creation of a coalition that would replace the UNIFIL mission in Lebanon, the partnership between the French public bank Bpifrance and Italy's CDP Venture Capital for investments in innovation, as well as the development of the railway line connecting Genoa to Marseille. /Adapted from Pamphlet by Corriere /
Mire e ka Trump qe ua dhjeu ketyre lavireve te Europes, qe nuk kane pike bese e orientimi. Trump duket si i lehtuar por nuk eshte ashtu si kujtojme ne. Mos harrojme se ka ujqer te vertete nga pas.