Giorgia Meloni has called on the European Union to adopt a common position on the war in Ukraine, rather than pursuing uncoordinated diplomatic initiatives.
The Italian prime minister made the request to European Council President António Costa in a letter. She wants the issue to be discussed at the informal meeting of European leaders scheduled to take place in Dublin on November 13.
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In the letter, obtained by POLITICO, Meloni warns that Europe’s current involvement in discussions on Ukraine creates the impression of a lack of coordination, weakening its international position.
“Recent developments have prompted me to raise once again an issue I have repeatedly brought up in the European Council: Europe must speak with one voice on Ukraine. We can no longer put this off,” she writes.
Meloni also points to the multitude of diplomatic channels being used simultaneously to address the future of the conflict. She mentions meetings in Miami and Oslo, discussions involving the Coalition of the Willing and the European Political Community, as well as phone calls between Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb and his Norwegian counterpart, Jonas Gahr Støre, and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
According to the Italian prime minister, initiatives carried out without a common direction and overlapping with one another do not help Europe either in its relations with partners or in its efforts to persuade those who need to help bring the aggression to an end. In the letter, she argues that the image of a disorganized Europe serves those who want the war to continue. Meloni calls this unacceptable, as people’s lives and the future of European security are at stake.
The call for a coordinated approach is also linked to Rome’s concern over its participation in diplomatic discussions on Ukraine.
POLITICO reports that Italy was not included in several meetings held in Miami in October and in Brussels this week. It took part in the Oslo discussions after being invited by the Norwegian government.
Meanwhile, negotiations are increasingly focusing on the E3 format, which includes the United Kingdom, France and Germany, together with the European Union, NATO and Ukraine.
For a year, Meloni has supported the appointment of a special European envoy for peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. According to her, the EU needs a clearly designated representative who can express the common position and participate directly in the diplomatic process.
Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani has also spoken in favor of the idea, calling for a European representative to negotiate and clearly convey the union’s position.
Meloni stresses, however, that the proposal is not intended to secure a special seat for Italy or a role for herself in the negotiations. “I am not asking for Italy to have a seat in one format or another,” she writes at the end of the letter addressed to António Costa.
