Today, we are facing not just isolated crises: the problem is that all these crises are interconnected, intertwined, and fuel one another. We are talking about multiple crises, and it is critically important to understand this clearly. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni stated this on May 4 at the 8th summit of the European Political Community taking place in Yerevan.

“In other words, by resolving one or two elements of this crisis, we will not be able to settle it as a whole. Uncontrolled migration flows put pressure on citizens’ security, and when they are seen as hybrid threats, the security and stability of states are also put at risk.

This also affects the economy: public resources are constrained, the labor market narrows, and competitiveness declines. Uncertainty and social tensions increase. In addition, there is a connection with energy. Many flows come from unstable regions that play a key role from the standpoint of energy supply.

Ultimately, this affects the quality of our democracies. When citizens see that key challenges are not being resolved, trust in institutions declines, and people become more vulnerable to manipulation, including the malicious use of new technologies. Thus, this is not only about migration — it is also about the economy, democracy, competitiveness, energy, and security. And if we consider any of these factors separately, it becomes obvious that they are closely interconnected,” she said.

Speaking about how to confront this multi-crisis situation, Meloni noted that, in her opinion, the European Union has in recent years demonstrated an ability to respond to crises, taking into account the coronavirus pandemic and the situation in Ukraine. However, according to her, this capacity needs to be doubled — additional capabilities must be created that are not only reactive, but also preventive and proactive. And this long-term strategy should place emphasis not only on involving countries that still underestimate these challenges, but also on more active engagement with geographical neighbors. She welcomed the presence of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at the summit, but stressed that, from Italy’s point of view, greater attention must be paid to the Mediterranean neighborhood.

“Forums such as the European Political Community are of fundamental importance to us. We should pay more attention to the countries of the broader Mediterranean region. We have already discussed this with Ursula (von der Leyen) and made attempts to cope with migration flows by paying greater attention to the southern Mediterranean countries.

Now, apparently, it is necessary to expand this approach by combining security, energy, and development within the framework of cooperation with neighboring countries. In my view, this is the best way to respond to the current situation — not to a single crisis, but to multiple crises occurring simultaneously and, unfortunately, often having common sources. All of them must be addressed,” Giorgia Meloni said.