Italy Not a Spare Wheel for France and Germany, Says Meloni

Rome: Italy is not a spare wheel in the EU for France and Germany, Premier Giorgia Meloni declared Thursday. “After the fall of the last center-right government, an attempt was made to get the message across that the only possible role for Italy was as a junior partner to France and Germany,” she stated.

According to Ansa News Agency, Meloni expressed her ambitions for Italy’s standing in the international arena. “I am a little more ambitious,” Meloni remarked, emphasizing Italy’s significance as a great nation and an economic power. She highlighted Italy’s foundational role in the EU and NATO and stressed the importance of recognizing the nation’s centrality and weight on the global stage.

Meloni underscored the importance of maintaining good relations with France and Germany but insisted on the necessity for Italy to claim cooperation between equals. “But Italy must claim cooperation between equals and its autonomy like everyone else does,” she asserted, rejecting the notion of Italy as merely a supporting player for its European neighbors.

Meloni’s comments were delivered at the second edition of “Il giorno de La Verit ,” a conference organized by the conservative daily, held at Palazzo Brancaccio in Rome.