"On migration, Italy has drawn attention to the Mediterranean route and the defense of external borders, the starting documents are important steps forward and we are having comprehensive talks to arrive at possible summaries that can take into account the Italian interests".
Thus the Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni leaving Stockholm after meeting with Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.
"The fundamental theme remains cooperation: offering alternatives to those who leave, to those who flee. This is a job that Italy is doing, if it did it in a more significant way Europe would make a difference", he added, recalling " the protagonism of Italy in North Africa".
During the meeting, the premier recounted "what we experience every day,
of the difficulties we are having and also of the work that Italy is doing" and did not find Sweden far from the Italian positions. "Clearly the reality we live here in relation to immigration is different from ours in the sense that we face a particular situation throughout Europe.
In Europe there is a lot of talk about border defense but the theme of the sea, of the Mediterranean, is more difficult to analyze in depth on a structural level.
But I believe that even with the conflict in Ukraine, which is linked to the migration issue, we must realize that there is also a question of security if we are unable to govern the situation.
I think it is legitimate for Italy when others are asking for the defense of the borders from secondary movements to raise the issue that before the secondary ones there are primary ones.
Meanwhile, the Sherpas are hard at work ahead of next week's European Council.
The first draft reads: "The European Council recalls the importance of a unified, comprehensive and effective EU policy on return and readmission, as well as an integrated approach to reintegration. Swift action is needed to ensure effective returns, from the EU and third countries along the routes, to countries of origin, leveraging all relevant EU policies, tools and means, including diplomacy, development, trade and visas, as well as legal migration and investment".