Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni paid a visit to Polish PM Mateusz Morawiecki in Warsaw on Wednesday, July 5th, to strengthen the relationship between the two conservative governments and to discuss security and migration after last week’s EUCO Summit and ahead of the upcoming NATO Summit next week.
According to the Italian prime minister, Rome’s and Warsaw’s positions on the EU’s Migration Pact are in accord, and the two countries will continue their friendly cooperation to reach an acceptable compromise in the European Council that respects the sovereignty of Central European member states.
The meeting took place just days after last week’s European Council Summit in Brussels, where EU leaders were unable to reach a common position on the Migration Pact after Poland and Hungary refused to lift their veto on the new migrant relocation mechanism, which would force countries to choose between accepting refugees or paying €22,000 per migrant.
As a frontline country, Italy would be one of the main beneficiaries of the scheme, which led to Meloni positioning herself as a mediator in the issue, trying to get her longtime friends, Morawiecki and his Hungarian colleague, PM Viktor Orbán, to sign off on the deal.
Even though she did not succeed, her visit to Warsaw showed that she harbors no resentment toward the two countries for halting the Migration Pact and that she ultimately supports their decision to stand up for their sovereignty.
“I could never complain about those who defend their national interests,” Meloni said during Wednesday’s joint press conference with Morawiecki, explaining that “there is no division because we are working on how to stop illegal immigration, not on how to manage things when migrants arrive in Europe.”
In turn, Morawiecki said he was pleased that Poland and Italy were on the same side of the issue and saw no obstacle to moving forward toward a solution together.
“Poland and Italy have a very similar vision of Europe and its security,” the Polish PM said. “Sealing the external borders of the European Union is a fundamental question for the future of Europe. We want to strengthen our defense [capabilities], stop illegal immigration, and we say stop forced relocations!”
Even before the meeting, Meloni already stated that she was supporting the Polish-Hungarian decision to veto the Migration Pact while pushing for opt-outs, saying that it was unfair to expect Central Europeans to pay after accepting most Ukrainian refugees, especially since Brussels is withholding tens of billions of EU funds from both governments due to rule of law concerns.
Reacting to the Italian prime minister’s supportive position, Balázs Orbán, the Hungarian PM’s political director, wrote: “Thank you for standing up, Giorgia Meloni! Grazie!”
Strengthening NATO’s eastern flank was the other important topic at Wednesday’s discussion, especially since the Alliance is preparing for its upcoming summit next week, where Rome and Warsaw pledged to represent their interests together as well.
“At the upcoming North Atlantic Pact summit in Vilnius, our positions will be very close. We want guarantees and support for Ukraine,” PM Morawiecki said at the press conference. “At the same time, we see the great threat that the Wagner Group poses in Belarus. We need to strengthen our external borders, the eastern border of Poland and the NATO flank.”
Whether it’s Belarus or the Mediterranean, the Polish-Italian partnership seems to come down to border control in the end.
“A secure Europe starts with tight borders, so Poland and Italy will defend them together,” Morawiecki added.
