Russia, criminals will not undermine our security - Meloni

External borders to be defended- PM at end of North-South summit

By: ansa.it

Dec 22 2024
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Russia, criminals will not und

Premier Giorgia Meloni on Sunday highlighted the commitment to defend external borders and said Russia or criminal organizations would not be allowed to undermine security, speaking at the end of the North-South Summit on European security and defence in Saariselkä, in the Finnish region of Lapland.
    "We want to defend external borders and we don't want to allow Russia or criminal organizations to undermine our security", said Meloni. The gathering was hosted by Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo and attended, in addition to Meloni, by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas, Greek Prime Minister Kyriákos Mitsotakis and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.
    Meloni went on to say that the EU is dealing with "great challenges".
    "Our countries have often been considered and have found themselves on opposite sides within the EU, with the North and the so-called frugal on one side and the nations of the South accused of being spendthrifts, something I believe is a prejudice, on the other.
    "These nations are now here to talk about the theme of security, and this shows that we have understood that the world has changed and we can't deal with challenges if we don't understand the point of view and problems of others", she noted.
    On Albania and new Italian processing centres for asylum seekers Italy has built in the country as part of an agreement between Rome and Tirana, Meloni said she has "summoned for tomorrow a meeting on the theme of Albania to understand how to proceed", answering to a reporter's question.
    Italian judges have so far not validated the detention of two groups of asylum seekers taken to Albania, referring their cases to the European Court of Justice - which had earlier established that an applicant could not go through a fast-track procedure that could lead to their repatriation if their country of provenance was not deemed wholly safe - even after the cabinet in late October issued a decree listing 19 safe countries for repatriation.
    The European Court of Justice is set to rule on the referrals in January.
    Speaking about a ruling of the Cassation Court in December that said courts could not disregard the decree, Meloni said "it looks to me like the Cassation ruled in favour of the government, it is the right of governments to establish which countries are safe" while judges can rule on a "single case, not disapply the totality" of the measure.
    Meloni also spoke about Deputy Premier and Transport Minister Matteo Salvini's acquittal in the Open Arms case in which he was accused of abducting and failing to perform public acts when he refused to allow the disembarkation of 147 migrants from an NGO-run vessel in August 2019, when he was interior minister, as part of a controversial closed-ports policy.
    A court of first instance in Palermo on Friday night ruled that there was no case to answer.
    "It looks to me like at the centre of the trial against Salvini were his political choices rather than actual crimes and that the jurisdiction was used to influence politics", she said.
    However, "today both I and Salvini are happy of the excellent work being done by the minister of interior", of infrastructure and of transport, Meloni noted, replying to a question on the possibility that Salvini could return to the interior ministry.
    The premier went on to say that "a lot is being said about what will happen" when President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
    "I think that we shouldn't follow rumours about Trump: I heard, for example, the last thing he said on Ukraine, 'we are working for peace but we can't have peace by abandoning Ukraine', which is approximately what I have said for years.
    "I would wait to understand exactly what is the will of the new president of the United States", Meloni said, in reply to a reporter asking her to comment on Trump's request to raise the contribution of NATO countries to 5% of GDP.