Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni
reportedly met with European Commission President Ursula von der
Leyen Thursday morning at the Europa Building before the
European Council resumed its work, with the focus of the meeting
being an update on the outcome of the PM's visit to Tunisia,
also in relation to the implementation process of the Migration
Memorandum and the Mattei Plan, the concrete initiatives that
can be implemented in light of the conclusions on the situation
of Syrian refugees in Lebanon, and a discussion on the issues of
European competitiveness in view of Thursday's discussion
between the EU leaders.
Meloni visited Tunisia on Wednesday for talks with President
Kais Saied and signed several agreements related to the
government's Mattei Plan.
The plan sets to create a new partnership with African countries
to address the root causes of irregular migration and turn Italy
into a sort of hub for energy supplies.
The agreements signed on Wednesday regarded support for the
Tunisian State budget for energy efficiency and renewable
energy; credit for Tunisian small-and-medium-sized enterprises;
and a memorandum of understanding between the Italian Ministry
of Universities and Research and its Tunisian counterpart.
It was Meloni's fourth visit to Tunisia in 10 months but the
first specifically regarding the Mattei Plan.
Meloni was instrumental in bringing about an EU deal with Tunis
for a strategic partnership featuring financial support and
cooperation on combatting human traffickers, among other things,
following a big increase in the number of migrants arriving in
Italy from North Africa.
She signed the deal with von der Leyen.
On Wednesday Meloni agreed 100 million euros more in finding for
the various projects in Tunisia.
Meloni and von der Leyen on Thursday also discussed former ECB
chief and ex Italian premier Mario Draghi's report on how to
boost competitiveness in the EU.
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