Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has urged the EU to tackle Russia’s evolving security threats, citing illegal migration, public influence, and resource control. Speaking at a Finland summit, she emphasized that these issues extend far beyond traditional defense concerns.
Russia's Threat Extends Beyond Military Might
Russian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Sunday that the EU faces a greater danger from Moscow than from its militaries alone, as the Russian capital can weaken the EU over illegal immigration and other concerns, Investing.com reports.
Over the weekend, the leaders of Greece, Italy, and Sweden, along with the EU foreign affairs chief, met in Finland's northern Lapland region to address migration issues in southern Europe, security in the Nordic region and the Mediterranean, and other topics.
While addressing the question of Russia, conservative government leader Meloni said, "We have to understand the threat is much wider than we imagine" during a press conference.
The threat to EU security, whether from Russia or elsewhere, will persist even after the conflict in Ukraine has ended, she warned, so the EU must be ready for that.
Border Security and Migration Control at the Center
"It's about our democracy, it's about influencing our public opinion, it's about what happens in Africa, it's about raw materials, it's about the instrumentalisation of migration. We need to know it's a very wide idea of security," Meloni remarked.
Do not allow Russia or any "criminal organisation" to control the flows of unauthorized migrants, she pleaded with the European Union.
A number of EU countries, notably Finland and Estonia, have leveled accusations against Russia, claiming that Moscow undermines EU security by facilitating the entry of undocumented migrants from the Middle East and other regions.
Russian officials have disputed accusations that their country was actively trying to force migrants into the European Union.
Finland Stresses the Importance of Securing Borders
Securing Finland's 1,340-km (833 mile) border with Russia is "an existential" matter for Finland and other EU members and NATO allies, according to Prime Minister Petteri Orpo.
Meloni stated that the European Union's approach to the problem of immigration throughout the years had been incorrect, focusing only on the question of how to divide up the costs.
"Tackling the issue of illegal immigration solely as a solidarity-based debate was a mistake," according to her. "The result is that we have been unable to protect our borders … We want to defend our external borders and we will not allow Russia or criminal organisations to undermine our security."
Expanding EU Security Beyond Traditional Defense
Meloni stated that the European Union needed to address broader issues, even though NATO was still "the cornerstone" of EU security.
"Security also means critical infrastructure, it means artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, raw materials, supply chains. It means a new and more effective foreign and cooperation policy, it means migration," she explained.