Italy’s Tajani urges EPP to ally with ECR, not the Greens

5 months ago 20

Italian Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani, whose Forza Italia party is part of the European People’s Party (EPP), has issued a warning to the conservatives: they should seek the support of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) rather than the Greens.

There should be enough votes in the European Parliament to confirm the outgoing president, “but the majority should be extended to include the conservatives and not the Greens,” Tajani told La Stampa in an interview.

The elections “sent a clear message” on how to approach green issues, said Tajani, who is also a former president of the European Parliament.

“We need a third way on environmental matters, which is neither denialist nor extremist like Greta Thunberg and Frans Timmermans,” he stated.

As a result, “an alliance with the Greens is not possible.”

In Italy, Tajani’s Forza Italia is part of the coalition government with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni Fratelli d’Italia (ECR) and Matteo Salvini’s Lega (ID).

While he still considers an alliance with Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement National “incompatible”, he believes that Meloni is the key to forming a new majority in Europe.

“Meloni leads a government with three parties that have different views. We, in Forza Italia, support Ursula von der Leyen for a second term, and it will be up to her to find a synthesis that also represents our ideas,” Tajani added.

The EPP has so far dismissed calls by environmentalists to form a united coalition following the recent EU Elections.

For von der Leyen, seeking support from the Greens is a last resort if she cannot secure another mandate with the support of the Socialists (S&D) and Renew’s liberals.

Newly elected as a Greens’ MEP, outgoing Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius recently positioned himself as the bridge between his group and the centre-right EPP.

“The Greens can play an important role in building a strong coalition, having a comfortable amount of votes for the Commission, and having an ambitious agenda,” he said.

(Alessia Peretti | Euractiv.it)