Italy: Meloni vows to revise ‘disastrous’ EU Green Deal

Alessia Peretti

Rome: Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has pledged to push for the review of the European Green Deal, criticising its “ideological approach” and warning that it risks leading to deindustrialisation.

Meloni criticised European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s flagship project at the Confindustria conference.

“Shall we say that it’s not the smartest strategy? And we say this because we are friends of Europe and want to defend Europe’s industrial capacity. Those who are friends of Europe must have the courage to point out what isn’t working,” she said, reaffirming her government’s commitment to “correct” these policies.

“Decarbonisation at the cost of deindustrialisation is a debacle,” the Italian leader added.

The European Green Deal has led to “disastrous results” due to its “ideological approach,” the Italian prime minister added.

Citing the recently published report on European competitiveness by former prime minister and former ECB president Mario Draghi, Meloni said, “Europe’s ambitious environmental goals must be backed by sufficient investments and resources, with a coherent plan to achieve them.”

“Otherwise, the energy and environmental transition will inevitably come at the expense of competitiveness and growth,” she added.

While Meloni has long been critical of the European Green Deal, her new-found influence on the new European Commission line-up – as evidenced by the nomination of her choice for the position of executive vice-president, even though her ECR group in the European Parliament is not part of the pro-European majority – could, as she hopes, see the dismantling of von der Leyen’s flagship policy.