An unprecedented alliance between Fdi, Lega and Futuro Nazionale takes place in the European Parliament on the sensitive issue of relations with Russia: according to the records, the delegations of Meloni’s party, Lega and Vannacci’s group, together with the Five Star Movement, voted against the opinion on the resolution that called for the establishment within the Democratic Shield of a European Center to counter disinformation and foreign interference.
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EU-NATO tensions at the borders
The text was approved with the yes votes of Forza Italia, PD, Greens and Azione and with the abstention of Italian Left. All on the day when tensions rose between NATO and Russia in the Baltic skies, with two Italian Eurofighters taking off to shoot down a drone in Lithuania, and when a Moscow frigate fired two signal rockets in international waters off the coast of Denmark, narrowly missing a Danish military helicopter.
The dossier divides the camps
More specifically, the ECR group (with Brothers of Italy), the Patriots (with Lega) and Europe of Sovereign Nations (with Futuro Nazionale) voted against the report. The Left group, on the other hand, was divided into three: the Finnish and Swedish delegations voted in favor, the Italian M5S against, along with the French and the majority of the group, while the two representatives of Italian Left and five other MEPs abstained.
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The text recognizes Russia as a “hostile actor”
The text thus splits both the center-right and the broad field. And it reveals how the dossier on relations with Putin’s Russia, identified in the opinion as the main external threat to European democracy, is one of the most insidious dossiers for both camps in Italy. “The key hostile actor is Russia,” said the rapporteur Tomas Tobé (EPP) bluntly. “Russia conducts systematic campaigns against European democracies,” with the aim of “dividing and weakening Europe.” The text highlights frequent hybrid attacks against critical infrastructures (including electoral infrastructures), physical sabotage, arson, espionage activities and signal disturbances, as well as similar activities coming from Belarus, China, Iran and North Korea.
Salvini’s signals to Moscow
The opposing position of Futuro Nazionale and the M5S is certainly not surprising, given the known pro-Russian stance of General Vannacci and the declared hostility of Giuseppe Conte towards the war in Ukraine. Nor is the opposition of Lega surprising, the party closest to Moscow among the government parties and the most hostile to support for Kiev (although in Parliament it has never failed to provide its votes so far): just the day before the vote, the leader of the Carroccio Matteo Salvini met with Italian entrepreneurs active in Moscow, emphasizing that Italy can play an important role in ending the conflict and expressing confidence that Russian gas purchases can resume as soon as the war ends.
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