The leader of Italy’s Fratelli d’Italia party, Giorgia Meloni, has stated during the final day of campaigning for general elections in Italy that Europe is taking notice of Rome’s strong conservative policies and listening to its arguments. She highlighted how Italy aims to strengthen nations within the European Union (EU) while von der Leyen herself supports her actions against illegal immigration, such as joint initiatives launched in Egypt and Tunisia aimed at stopping people trafficking by sea from North Africa towards Europe’s shores. Meloni added that this will have significant implications for future elections due to take place across the EU in a few months when conservative parties could bring about changes within it through their newly-elected European Parliament members, who must address current issues identified during campaigning by Giorgia Meloni herself.
Meanwhile, Italy’s birth rate has reached an all-time low due to repeated declines of over 15 consecutive years since 2008, with the country recording just under 380,00 babies in 2023 – a decrease by approximately 4% compared to the previous year. This issue is not unique to Italy but affects all Western European nations as well. In response, Italy’s budget for next year has set aside €1bn ($1.1bn) towards measures aimed at addressing its demographic crisis. Meloni explained that these policies are intended both economically and financially to support birth rates among young couples while also changing societal attitudes by recognising the value of life and children in people’s minds as well.
However, experts note how migration routes from North Africa towards Italy have become increasingly popular with a 50% increase observed during last year alone. The Italian Coast Guard recently rescued over two hundred migrants off Lampedusa island after their boat capsized due to stormy weather around thirty miles south of the location. Meloni accompanied Tunisian President Kais Saied on his fourth visit to Tunisia in a year when they signed new accords as part of Italy’s ‘Mattei Plan’, which aims to tackle education, agriculture and health issues while also working towards making Italy an energy hub for transporting natural gas supplies from Africa across Europe. Meloni emphasised that the issue is not migration itself but rather criminal organisations behind people trafficking who are destabilising African countries through laundering their money acquired by participating in international drug, weapons or terrorist activities.
During last week’s G-7 foreign minister meeting on Capri Island led by Italy under its current rotating presidency of the organisation, there were calls for new sanctions against Iran due to recent attacks made upon Israel. Meloni expressed that while it was understood that the Iranian government does not want an escalation in this issue and all G-7 members agreed with Biden’s lead on supporting both Israeli defence rights as well as its right to exist, they also hoped for a de-escalation of tensions so that regional wars would be avoided.
Italy withdrew from China’s Belt and Road Initiative in December due to concerns over the political nature of this agreement which was deemed inconsistent with NATO’s alliance as well as European Union policies by previous centre-left governments, including Conte’s administration. Meloni explained that they terminated such a relationship during its natural expiry period but intend establishing fresh economic and social ties between Italy and China instead while building on millennial-old links connecting the Italian and Chinese peoples based upon mutually beneficial trade practices for both nations.
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