Rights and the environment, these are the themes that underpin the backbone between Mario Draghi and Joe Biden that were in the midst of a half hour face-to-face on the Corniche beach, home of the G7. The meeting “goed well,” as the protagonists themselves said. The first meeting between the leaders of Italy and the United States took place in Carbis Bay on the sidelines of the G7 summit, outside the home of the American president. It works on cement
Draghi stresses that the bilateral relations that are central to the Italian government’s foreign policy are “European and Atlantic”.
China’s ‘invisible’ presence in talks – There are many files to work on together that are also discussed in multilateral coordination with the Big 7, ranging from relations with China (even if it is not a topic discussed) to the pursuit of more equitable global growth, from files such as vaccines to fight epidemics, From NATO to the relaunch of multilateralism that also runs through the Italian G20. “Women, Youth, Defending the Less, Human Rights, Civil Rights, Social Rights and Environmental Protection which are the main theme of our G20 Presidency”: At the end of the interview, these are the issues that Draghi said he scored in unison with the President of the United States.
Draghi’s three lines of dealing with Beijing – Rights are also one of the main pillars of the dossier on relations with Beijing, which he stuck to on the second day of the G7, with some difficulty reconciling the soft line of the Europeans and pushing Washington to take a tougher stance on it. the Dragon. But in the evening, the common attitude seemed to have matured. Draghi and Biden, according to Italian sources, do not address the issue in bilateral talks, but at the summit table, the Italian Prime Minister clarified his position. The prime minister agrees with the position expressed by the majority of G7 countries on the need for a three-way approach with China: cooperation in some areas such as combating climate change, and competition in others such as trade and global business chains. and opposition on issues such as respect for human rights and civil rights.
The option is to launch informal initiatives by the Group of Seven major industrialized countries to establish a common approach to China. Draghi, along with Chancellor Merkel and other leaders, stresses how important the G7 initiative, which has been pushed by the United States, is not seen as an adversary of China, but aims to propose an alternative agenda in which other countries are. The world can get to know each other. He asserts Biden’s rights and Draghi is in perfect harmony with this. In the past, in different roles, they had the opportunity to meet. The first meeting as heads of government does not appear on the agenda of the White House as a bilateral, but an intense confrontation that lasted half an hour. At the helm of their countries for a few months, with the difficult task of getting them out of the pandemic and unleashing new growth, they also scored an agreement on economic policy: Biden wants it to be “more inclusive and fair,” Draghi focuses on “social cohesion.”
Summit in Washington in September? – There are several important files from Italy, which can be explored in September at a White House meeting. With Biden, it is possible to ease the tariffs Trump has imposed on Europe on steel and aluminum. But the perspective on Libya is also changing: Overcoming the withdrawal of the former White House tenant is critical to being able to curb the meddling of Russia and Turkey and work more forcefully to stabilize the country — and most importantly for Rome — to control migration flows. Finally, the NATO dossier: next year Italy will play the presidency game. Barack Obama had promised his support for an Italian job, which could go to names like Enrico Letta or Federica Mogherini, but Great Britain is also on the field with former Prime Minister Theresa May.
Biden and love for Capri – At the end of the meeting, Biden told Draghi all his love for Italy and Capri in particular. The Prime Minister greeted him, “consider getting a standing invitation.”
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