Meloni: Schengen can survive only if the EU defends its external borders

Giorgia Meloni said the Schengen area can be preserved only by defending the European Union’s external borders. Speaking after a meeting with Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, Italy’s prime minister called on all member states to continue contributing to the fight against people smugglers and irregular mass immigration.

Meloni said she and De Wever shared work on migration and cooperation within the Council of Europe. They had also signed the Chisinau Declaration, which she described as a starting point and evidence of cooperation developed over recent months and years. She said they agreed on the need to make the interpretation and implementation of international conventions more effective, beginning with the European Convention on Human Rights.

The talks also covered the EU’s next multiannual financial framework, negotiations that Meloni said were entering a decisive phase. Italy’s position, she said, focused on balancing traditional policies, including cohesion policy and the Common Agricultural Policy, with the need to invest in competitiveness. Rome does not see those priorities as contradictory, she said, arguing that cohesion and agricultural policy provide the foundation for strengthening European competitiveness.

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I remain firmly convinced that the Schengen area can be preserved in the best possible way only if the Union's external borders are defended, and only if all member states continue to do their part in the fight against people smugglers and irregular mass immigration.

Meloni acknowledged that Italian and Belgian positions do not always fully overlap. She said the two sides were nevertheless able to listen to each other and seek compromises that benefit all parties.

She described the relationship between Italy and Belgium as deep, reflected in economic ties, cultural exchanges and the presence of their communities. Bilateral trade exceeded 46.5 billion euros in 2025, up from 2024, she said. More than 300 Italian companies operate in Belgium, and the two countries could further develop complementary industrial supply chains in energy, infrastructure, transport, logistics and defense.

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Cohesion and the Common Agricultural Policy are the precondition for strengthening competitiveness in Europe.