Seeking a diplomatic solution, Rome and Berlin both referred to their constitutions.
“We are ready. But of course there are objective problems with the way the initiative is structured,” Meloni stated in Rome on Friday during a joint press conference with Merz. “I have also spoken to the American president about this. Perhaps we can try to resolve these issues,” she added.
Meloni asserted that Trump’s peace board would violate a provision of the Italian constitution that prevents the country from joining international bodies where one entity — in this case, the U.S. president — holds more power than its counterparts.
Merz, present in Rome for discussions to bolster German and Italian cooperation within the EU, supported Meloni’s statements.
“I would personally be willing to join a peace board,” Merz remarked. He then added, however, that: “We cannot accept the governance structures, also for constitutional reasons in Germany. But we are, of course, willing to try other forms, new forms of cooperation.”
Germany had earlier welcomed Trump’s invitation, while remaining undecided. German officials indicated that Berlin’s objective was to formulate a united response to Trump’s peace board proposal, while emphasizing that the U.N. should continue to be the main multilateral forum to resolve conflicts.
Leave a Reply