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Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and French President Emmanuel Macron held the 36th intergovernmental summit between Italy and France on Friday, at Villa Eilenroc, in Cap d'Antibes, emphasizing the need to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the fields of defense, energy, security and European politics.
At the beginning of the meeting, Meloni greeted Macron in French by joking: "Emmanuel, how long has it been?"
At the joint press conference, the French president declared that Italy and France are "indispensable partners", recalling the Quirinal Treaty as the basis of cooperation between the two countries.
"Our common challenge is support for Ukraine and participation in peacekeeping missions," Macron said.
The French president also stressed that it is more necessary than ever to strengthen Europe's energy independence. He announced that France and Italy will cooperate on the development of a new civilian nuclear reactor.
Macron also stated that both countries will contribute to operations to demin the Strait of Hormuz and that it is necessary to prevent the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
For her part, Meloni thanked Macron for organizing the G7 summit in Evian, describing it as an important signal of unity and dialogue.
She emphasized that Italy and France have common interests in the defense sector, where both countries have advanced industries, while regarding the European Union budget, she underlined that new priorities should not be financed at the expense of agriculture.
The Italian Prime Minister also mentioned as priorities guaranteeing freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and addressing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Regarding Lebanon, the two leaders agreed to launch a cooperation that will go beyond the UN UNIFIL mission, whose mandate is expected to end in a few months.
Macron dismissed rumors of cold relations between him and Melon.
"There is nothing frozen between us anymore. We have managed to build convergence and cooperation," he said.
Asked about Iran's accusations that Italy had collaborated in attacks on Iranian territory, Meloni denied any military involvement by her country.
" Italy has not participated in the conflict with Iran. Our bases have been made available only for logistical and technical missions. When requests have been made that went beyond this framework, we have refused to use them ," she declared.
Macron also praised the G7's final statement, noting that for the first time the United States signed a document supporting Ukraine's territorial integrity.
As for the trial against Marine Le Pen, Meloni said that it is not her place to comment on France's internal affairs.
" I don't believe it's up to me to say what's best for the French and I didn't like it when others did the same thing to Italy ," she said.
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