In contrast to Germany’s AfD, which frequently criticizes climate policy, Meloni explicitly acknowledged this with his statement: “Promoting climate protection worldwide and supporting ecological change are the urgent core tasks of our time, underscored by scientific findings and agreed globally under the Paris Agreement,” the document said.

Regarding the war in Ukraine, the two heads of government stated that Germany and Italy stand together “in the face of Russia’s baseless, unjustified and illegal war of aggression against Ukraine.” We will continue to coordinate closely, including on sanctions policy and support for Ukraine.

First government consultation in seven years

A German-Italian “action plan” was agreed with Meloni’s predecessor Mario Draghi in December 2021 to deepen relations between the two countries. The idea follows a friendship agreement previously signed between Italy and France with the aim of the two countries to cooperate more closely on issues such as the economy, security and migration policy.

This is the first German-Italian government consultation since 2016. Meetings between the heads of government and several ministers from both sides were only held with close partner countries or countries that are very important for Germany, such as China, India or Brazil.

Criticism of the Left: “Irresponsible”

Meloni and his right-wing nationalist party Fratelli d’Italia (Brothers of Italy) have ruled the country since late October 2022, along with the conservative Forza Italia party and the right-wing populist Lega party. Recently there was a dispute with Berlin over German financial assistance to non-governmental organizations that rescue migrant boats from the Mediterranean to then bring them ashore in Italy. Meloni complained about this in a letter to Scholz in September. Nothing more is heard about it now. “We all know that we have to find ways to reduce irregular migration,” Scholz said at a press conference.

Left groups criticized the meeting in Berlin. “The Italian Prime Minister is not a state guest who should be presented with a red carpet,” said party leader Janine Wissler. He spoke about the dangerous normalization and approach towards Meloni and his right-wing government by the traffic light government. “Traffic light behavior is also irresponsible considering legal developments in Germany.”