While some EU leaders consider the consequences of an apparent American disengagement from Europe, the Prime Minister of Italy remains one of the largest defenders of maintenance of the continent under American protection.
Italian Giorgia Meloni arrived in Brussels for the extraordinary EU summit, sticky by a mantra that she had presented at the informal summit on Sunday in London: European defense is not viable without a complete NATO involvement.
This post differs from French President Emmanuel Macron, who directs the efforts of those who interpret recent American political changes under President Donald Trump as a signal for Europe to improve his strategic autonomy.
While Macron went so far as to propose the extension of France's nuclear protection to the whole continent as an additional security guarantee for the EU allies, Meloni reaffirmed his commitment to traditional Atlantism – a doctrine advocating a close alliance between the United States and Europe on political, economic and defense issues since the Second World War.
While Europe is struggling with changing geopolitical realities, Meloni seeks to mediate between EU leaders, many of which now seem open to supporting Macron's vision to maintain NATO's ties while strengthening European defense capacities in the event that the United States exerts the branch on the transatlantic alliance.
Keep the United West camp
The thrust for European self-execution is gaining ground beyond France. The head of the EU foreign policy, Kaja Kallas, recently intensified the following debate tensions Between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, tweet: “It has become clear that the free world needs a new leader. It is up to us, Europeans, to take up this challenge. »»
For Italy, filling these ideological gaps is crucial to maintaining NATO unity. “What is obvious in this situation is the need to maintain unity – not only within the European Union but more generally in the Western camp,” said a diplomatic source before the EU summit.
Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs Antonio Tajani, in Brussels for a meeting of his European center-center party, has strengthened this perspective: “Guaranteeing the security of Ukraine and that of Europe without a strong transatlantic relationship and without NATO is absolutely impossible.”
Meloni's close ties with Trump
Beyond his commitment to the transatlantic unity, Meloni remains one of the rare “ whispering of Trump '' from Europe since she was an ally near – Trump welcomed him as “a fantastic woman” and “a great leader” – and Meloni exploited this and wants to maintain the link.
In January, she went to Trump's Mar-A-Lago in Florida to coordinate the liberation efforts of Italian journalist Cecilia Sala, imprisoned in Iran. This diplomatic success has strengthened its domestic position.
In a recent speech, Meloni sought to repress concerns about Trump's commitment to Europe: “Our opponents hope that Trump will move away, but that will not happen. I know him: he is strong and effective. I bet we will prove them the opposite.
A “legally questionable” compromise
In this sense and in order to seek common ground between Trump's opposition to membership of Ukraine NATO and the need to offer security insurance in kyiv, Meloni presented an unusual solution.
She suggested extending to article 5 of NATO Ukraine – her collective defense clause – without the territory being granted from the alliance. This would place Ukraine under the NATO protection umbrella while avoiding a formal commitment.
The political historian Lorenzo Castellani of Luis Guido Carli University of Rome said that the plan would be “legally questionable and difficult to implement at political level”.
“This essentially means that if Putin breaks the truce after the conflict is frozen, NATO intervenes. Meloni is aware that this type of deterrence would never be accepted by Russia,” said the expert.
In addition, the deployment of Italian troops in Ukraine remains politically untenable. “Italian public opinion is much more opposed to the increase in military spending and the sending of weapons to Ukraine compared to France, Germany or the United Kingdom,” noted Castellani.
ADVERTISEMENTInterior political challenges
Meloni also has obstacles within his own government. Its coalition partners, Forza Italia and Lega or the League, are divided on military support for Ukraine and the European Defense Strategy.
Forza Italia, led by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Tajani, is fully aligned With the prudent approach of Meloni. The party supports military aid in kyiv and approves the European Commission's reference plan of the European Commission, which aims to increase the defense capacities of the EU.
On the other hand, the League remains skeptical about the defense initiatives of the EU and has put its confidence in the potential negotiations of Trump with Russia. The Minister of Finance and the League, heavy goods vehicles, Francesco Giorgetti, even criticized EU's defense strategy as “hasty and illogical”.
Meloni therefore travels a cautious path to maintain an inclination to the United States, both to play its political forces, but also as a means of preserving its domestic power base. But if its profile currently appears low in the middle of the top of the crisis, as events develop, it could well be presented in a more frontal role.
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