INTRODUCTION BY PRESIDENT MELONI

Good afternoon everyone. 
I will briefly sum up what has been discussed. You are aware of the issues that were on the European Council’s agenda. Yesterday we talked above all about foreign policy, confirming the positions already expressed during previous European Council meetings but with something new and very important, which was requested by Italy: Lebanon and European support for Lebanon which is in extreme difficulty, also with regard to the large number of Syrian refugees currently in Lebanon who, in a situation that is already very complex for the population, clearly risk causing further difficulties.

We asked for reference to be made to this in the Council’s conclusions. The European Commission is already working on this issue. This initiative by Italy also follows on from our visit to Lebanon a few weeks ago. The Conclusions very clearly state Europe’s intention to provide help in this regard. I spoke with President of the Commission von der Leyen this morning about the migration issue as a whole, bringing together the subject of Lebanon and that of Tunisia (we were in Tunisia yesterday). The significant reduction in irregular flows of migrants towards Italy shows that our work is gradually yielding results. Tunisia is clearly another nation we must continue to work with; we cannot expect to solve our problems by shifting them to other nations. I therefore also spoke with President von der Leyen about the issue of returns to countries of origin and the involvement of international organisations regarding assisted voluntary returns from Tunisia to the countries of origin.
Then there is the issue of Libya, which we are also addressing with the European Commission and in relation to which I hope there will be some developments over the coming days.

That was an overview of yesterday.

As you know, this morning, Enrico Letta presented the report he was appointed to draw up on the European Union’s single market. I consider this work to be very interesting, and I wish to thank Enrico Letta for this; there are many ideas that I believe draw inspiration also from the work the Italian Government is doing, from Italy’s example. There are certainly very important insights: the need to strengthen European industry while also taking into account our vocation for manufacturing; there is reference to strategic autonomy, with a particular focus on energy and networks connecting with third countries, which is part of the work we are doing with the Mattei Plan.

This report also makes reference to the issue of the birth rate (which I consider to be very brave, although it shouldn’t be); this is perhaps the greatest economic challenge facing the European Union if we want to maintain our welfare system. We have said this many times, but Europe has never addressed this issue in a structural way.

I also agree with the reference to having the freedom to stay, in other words how to ensure that our young people and our best talents do not find better prospects in other markets compared with what they can find here.

Above all, the issue of resources has been raised. As we have said many times, we may have the best strategies to put in place, but if we want to pursue those strategies then we need resources. You are aware of the debate within the European Union about common debt, and this is a proposal that the Italian Government supports, as you well know. Enrico Letta has raised the question of reopening a debate to unlock private capital for these challenges, to ensure that capital can remain in the European market instead of often, too often, finding better conditions elsewhere; this was also then discussed during the subsequent debate and included in the Council’s conclusions. 

To sum up, this debate went on for longer than we had expected, which is why I won’t be able to visit the Salone del Mobile in Milan. I would like to take this opportunity to apologise to the organisers of the Salone del Mobile; I wanted to attend as it is one of the most important events showcasing Made in Italy excellence. 

In closing, this was the last European Council meeting during this parliamentary term. When we meet again, we will be in a different scenario. Aside from the work we have done over the last months, over the last year and a half, in which we have tried to change Europe’s priorities or its way of looking at certain major issues – indeed the issue of migration comes to mind, but there are also others; I am also thinking of the issue of environmental sustainability being linked to economic and social sustainability – what I can hope for is that, the next time we meet, we will be faced with a different Europe, a Europe that is more able to address these major challenges, the major challenges in terms of foreign policy, defence of its borders, strategic autonomy, key supply chains and a less ideological and more pragmatic approach to citizens’ problems.

[Courtesy translation]