PARIS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th May, 2023) Critical remarks of French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin in relation to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will not create problems in relations between the two countries, French Energy Transition Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher said on Friday.
On Thursday, Darmanin said that Meloni is incapable of solving Italy's illegal migration problems, adding that the country is experiencing a "very serious" migration crisis.
"Relations between France and Italy are based on mutual trust. I do not think that these statements, which were intended to show the complexity of the migration issue, can create problems with Italy in the long run," Pannier-Runacher said on air on the LCI broadcaster.
She also noted that Darmanin simply meant that this issues is too complex, and those who promise to resolve it in an instant are lying.
"These problems are difficult and deep. Naturally, Meloni tries to find a way out, just like all European leaders," the minister said.
She noted that Paris and Rome had signed the Quirinal Treaty, in which the sides agreed to further strengthen their friendship and work together to develop the European Union.
However, French opposition politicians were not so tolerant of the interior minister's remarks. Jordan Bardella, the head of the far-right National Rally party, said that Darmanin's poor handling of migration in France gave him no right to criticize Italy.
Another lawmaker Nicolas Dupont-Aignan called the French minister "a petty politician," and described his remarks as "irresponsible."
Eric Zemmour, a former presidential candidate and the leader of the far-right Reconquête party, accused Darmanin of allowing a record number of migrants to arrive in France on his watch.
Following Darmanin's comments, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani canceled his scheduled trip to France to meet with his French counterpart, Catherine Colonna. The French Foreign Ministry expressed hope that new dates of the visit will be negotiated soon, adding that migration is a common challenge for the entire European Union.
The previous diplomatic scandal between Italy and France took place in November 2022, when Italy refused to allow the docking of the Ocean Viking, French NGO SOS Mediterranee's ship, with 234 migrants on board, who had been rescued in the Mediterranean Sea. Many refugees had reportedly been at sea for over two weeks. The ship finally docked in the French port of Toulon. Then, France criticized Rome's refusal as "selfish" and "unacceptable." Meloni, in turn, said that it was unfair that most of migrants that travel via the Mediterranean Sea come to Italian ports.
