Mission of Ministers Tajani and Piantedosi to Menton and Ventimiglia

The Vice President of the Council and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Hon. Antonio Tajani, and the Minister of the Interior Matteo Piantedosi they were on a mission today in Menton and Ventimiglia to meet the new French Prime Minister, Michel Barnier, and the French Minister of the Interior, Bruno Retailleau.

At the centre of the meetings the cooperation between Italy and France in the field of migration, with a meeting with the security forces in charge of controlling the Italian-French border and a visit to the Police and Customs Cooperation Centre (CCPD).

“In an increasingly complex international context, Italy and France must work together to address current and future challenges, starting with the issue of migration,” said the Minister Tajani, highlighting how "the Italian Government is ready to work, at all levels, with the new French executive".

“We need to strengthen the consultation mechanism between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and the Interior on asylum and migration issues,” the Vice President indicated. Tajani, highlighting the importance of strengthening collaboration and coordination also at European level. “The priority now is to ensure the correct application of the new Pact on Migration and Asylum” continued Tajani “respecting the balance between solidarity and sharing of responsibilities between European partners, while identifying innovative and concrete solutions to the problem of migration in coherence and complementarity with the progress made with the Pact, starting from the results achieved with the EU-Tunisia MoU and now with the implementation of the Italy-Albania protocol”.

The meeting also focused on the issues of border cooperation and cross-border connections. About this, Tajani he recalled the need for Strengthen the Mont Blanc Tunnel, “one of the symbols of friendship between our two countries”, and reiterated the importance of the proper functioning of other transalpine connections, “starting with the commissioning of the new Frejus road tunnel, the restoration of traffic on the Moncenisio railway line, as well as the opening of the new Tenda tunnel”.

At the conclusion of the joint meeting, Minister Tajani and Minister Piantedosi They had an operational meeting with the Prefects of the areas of Liguria hit by bad weather and will hold a press conference in Ventimiglia, at the Forte dell'Annunziata.