Brindisi, 15 June 2024 – “If today the peace conference opens in Switzerland in which Italy also participates, it is because we G7 with our firm and united support in these two years we have ensured that Ukraine was not invaded. It’s worth always remembering this.” Giorgia Meloni thus begins the press conference in which he sums up the summit, which saw the world’s greats meet in Puglia, in Borgo Egnazia. A summit that the Prime Minister defines, “without fear of denial, a success“, “an extraordinary team effort” of which she says she is “proud” for “how our nation has once again managed to amaze and set the course”.
Giorgia Meloni during the final G7 conference in Puglia (Ansa)
“The G7 reiterates the compact commitment to defend the international system of rules based on law, jeopardized by the Russian war of aggression”, says the Prime Minister, recalling the “non-obvious agreement” on profits from Russian assets, “to be defined from a technical point of view in the coming weeks”. “It has already been established that the 50 billion loan to Ukraine will be provided by the USA, Canada, the United Kingdom and Japan could also probably participate – he clarifies –. Currently the European nations are not involved because the assets are all mobilized in Europe, therefore Europe is already contributing by identifying the guarantee mechanism.” And on President Valdimir Putin’s peace proposal he says: “It seems to me more like a propaganda move than a real one.”
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And speaking of peace, Meloni also talks about conflict in the Middle East, underlining that on this too “there is full convergence in the declaration”. We confirmed our support for the US mediation proposal for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all hostages and a significant increase in humanitarian assistance to the civilian population in the Gaza Strip – he adds –. The G7 reiterated every effort to avoid escalation in the region and for a lasting political solution to the crisis with a two-people, two-state solution.”
The abortion controversy
Meloni also returns to the issue abortion and on the fact that the word is not contained in the final summit declaration. “Simply because when there are things already taken for granted, a reference is made to the previous document”, she explains. “I think it was one controversy built in a manner artificiala controversy that has never existed at the top”, he adds, underlining that he does not intend to “amend law 194 but apply it in all its parts, it is a very balanced and well-made law”.
He then remarks: “In the government in these two years there have been no steps backwards with respect to issues such as the right to abortion or LGBT rights, the reality is different from a story that I see animated by various alleged observers, whose expectations have been disappointed.”
Thanks to the Pope and artificial intelligence
The prime minister say thank you Then Pope francesco. “Yesterday we experienced a historic moment with the presence of the pontiff who I will never stop thanking for the gift he gave us. Not only by participating in the summit, it was the first time in the 50-year history of the G7 – he says –. I want to thank him for having given us his invaluable point of view onartificial intelligence and for the respect he showed by staying for over 3 hours to listen to all the leaders. I found it an extraordinary message and I will truly be eternally grateful to the Holy Father for this extraordinary message that he wanted to send.”
“The Pope has made an extraordinary contribution, including a moral one, by giving substance to the concept promoted by the Holy See of ‘algorithics’, giving ethics to algorithms: we managed to have the prediction of a brand which allows companies that adopt a code of conduct to be recognizable by consumers – underlines the prime minister –. We have started a focus on the impact of AI on the job market.”
Meloni explains that “the debate on artificial intelligence does not end here”. “We will organize other initiatives. It is a topic that the whole world is wondering about and it is essential to address it at an international level”, she says. “Our interest is ensure that this technology when we develop it remains in any case controlled by man, man keeps man as his ultimate goal”. “We must not treat this matter as if it were all white or all black: the tools are neutral, they are in themselves neither good nor bad. Artificial Intelligence brings with it opportunities and risks, it is a multiplierwhat do we want to multiply?”.
Migrants
Then there is room for the coalition against the migrant trafficking. “We have decided to instruct the Interior Ministers of the 7 countries to develop an action plan which must be adopted as soon as possible. We are working from today, the time for the ministers to meet and define an action plan to be operational on this matter as soon as possible”, he explains. And he reiterates that the fight against illegal immigration in the final document of the G7 it moves along four lines: “Fight against human trafficking, work on the causes upstream, ability to govern and encourage legal migration flows”. On this last point, the Prime Minister recalls that “when Italy launched the three-year flow decree, it gave additional quotas to the nations that helped us fight illegal migration. Clearly, therefore, the issue of migration is a fundamental aspect but must be left to national states. It is not international organizations that can decide in place of national states.”
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Fasano, photo of Meloni upside down at the No G7 demonstration
Africa and the Mattei plan
On matters concerning Africa in the G7 “the Italian approach was shared”, says the prime minister, underlining how our country has “tried from the beginning to create a point of reference” regarding the line to follow. The objective is “to combine efforts to continue building a model that contributes to Africa growing and prospering with the resources it possesses” – she says – because “the G7 does not want to be a closed fortressit does not have to defend itself from something or someone but” provides a system of work that “wants to offer itself to the world to seek solutions related to development together”. “It was important to dismantle that narrative that would have the West against the rest of the world, this approach was confirmed during the Italian presidency and I am proud” to have offered “a completely” different story, she adds.
Global Tax
“Within the G7 we have agreed on a strong political commitment in favor of a fairer and more stable international tax system, the famous global minimum tax, a topic that I particularly care about – continues the Prime Minister –. Yesterday we listened to the OECD secretary explain to us that she is ready to be signed on a technical level. The G7 and the OECD have worked in parallel”, now it’s up to the States and “Italy’s will is there and I hope it will be done as soon as possible”.
Olympic truce
Journalists ask her about it Olympic truce whose invitation “was included” in the final declarations of the G7. “It was a French request and in my opinion it is a good request, it was included unanimously – explains the prime minister –. I don’t know if it will be possible to obtain” the truce, “but I think it could be another precious element, this reference was also inserted in line with a United Nations resolution, we will see what it will be but I am happy that we have done our part and we will continue to do our part to understand if this could be an element of de-escalation”.
The relationship with China
Finally a passage also on China. “We have kept the priorities of issues related to the Indo-Pacific and economic security high, with the aim of giving a clear message, particularly to China – says Meloni -. We are open to dialogueobviously, though our businesses must be able to compete on equal termsbecause the market can only be free if it is also fair, therefore a free market but within a framework of fair competition”. The Prime Minister then underlines that “we cannot fall into the paradox that by protecting the environment we end up benefiting nations that are competing with us and who have no major problems in adopting very aggressive commercial practices, often to the detriment of the environment”.
The European Union to come
On the European summits, concludes Meloni, “the first two issues that interest me and on the basis of which I will make my assessments as the Italian government and with the allies is that Italy must be recognized for the role it deserves in terms of the competences of the commissioners and that Europe understands the message received from the European citizens, because if we want to learn from the vote that everything was fine, it would be a slightly distorted reading”. According to the prime minister, in fact, “the citizens Europeans ask for pragmatism, a much less ideological approach on several major issues, for Europe to deal more with some priorities that it has dealt with little in past years, and to deal less with priorities that it has dealt with a lot. I hope that this message can be understood – he continues –. Citizens vote to give indications to those in charge of politics on what the line to follow should be. It seems to me that a message has arrived, and a clear one. This is what interests me. We make our evaluations downstream of these reasonings, not upstream. That’s a game played by others who think they can tick all the boxes before the citizens vote: Politics must above all respond to the indications that come from citizens“.
