Meloni is seen as a strong potential partner for Trump, given his conservative reputation and the overall stability of the right-wing coalition he has led in Italy since 2022.
“Don't ask what the US can do for you, ask what Europe should do for itself,” he said before a meeting of EU leaders in the Hungarian capital, as quoted by Reuters. “Europe needs to find a balance… I am thinking about issues of competitiveness, tariffs…”, he added.
Meloni also said he considers Tesla CEO and Trump supporter Elon Musk to be a person of “value” and a good speaker. He had a telephone conversation with Musk after Trump's victory in the US presidential election on Tuesday.
The EU summit will include a debate on competitiveness, which Meloni said is “very important”, and a presentation on the topic by former European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi.
“We know what we have to do, the big question we have to answer now is whether we really want to give member states the tools to achieve the targets,” he said.
(source: AFP)
