Italy’s Meloni says the security threat posed by Russia is far reaching Reuters
Written by Anne Kauranen
SAARISELKA, Finland (Reuters) – Russia poses a greater threat to the European Union’s security than its defense as Moscow can use illegal immigration and other problems to undermine the bloc, Italian Prime Minister Giorgio Meloni said on Sunday.
Finland hosted the leaders of Italy, Sweden and Greece, as well as the EU’s foreign affairs chief, in its northern region of Lapland at the weekend to discuss security in the Nordic region and the Mediterranean, as well as migration challenges in southern Europe.
“We have to understand that the threat is much wider than we think,” said Meloni, who heads the government that participated in the press conference when asked about Russia.
The threat to EU security from Russia or elsewhere will not stop when the conflict in Ukraine is over and the EU must prepare for that, he said.
“It’s about our democracy, it’s about influencing our public opinion, it’s about what’s happening in Africa, it’s about raw materials, about the use of migration tools. We must know that it’s a very broad idea of security,” said Meloni.
He called on the EU to do more to protect its borders and not allow Russia or any “criminal organization” to direct the flow of illegal migrants.
Some EU members including Finland and Estonia have accused Russia of allowing illegal migrants from the Middle East and elsewhere to enter EU territories through Russia without proper checks, undermining EU security.
Moscow has denied that Russia was deliberately pushing illegal immigrants to the EU.
Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said that securing his country’s 1,340 kilometer (833 miles) border with Russia is an “existential question” for Finland and other EU members and NATO allies.
Meloni said that the EU was wrong in handling the issue of immigration in the past years in terms of how to share the burden.
“Tackling the issue of illegal immigration as a debate based on unity was a mistake,” he said. “The result is that we have not been able to protect our borders … We want to protect our external borders and we will not allow Russia or criminal organizations to undermine our security.”
While NATO remained the “basis” of EU security, the bloc had to face broader challenges, Meloni said.
“Security also means critical infrastructure, it means artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, raw materials, supply chains. It means a new and effective foreign policy and cooperation, it means migration,” he said.
