Russia poses a bigger threat to European Union security than just defence as Moscow can use illegal immigration and other issues to undermine the bloc, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Sunday.
Finland hosted the leaders of Italy, Sweden and Greece, as well as the EU foreign affairs chief, in its northern Lapland region at the weekend to discuss security in the Nordic region and the Mediterranean, as well as migration challenges in southern Europe.
"We have to understand the threat is much wider than we imagine," Meloni, who leads a conservative government, told a press conference when asked about Russia.
The danger to EU security from Russia or from elsewhere would not stop once the Ukraine conflict ended and the EU must be prepared for that, she said.
"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 said.
She urged the EU to do more to protect its borders and not let Russia or any "criminal organisation" steer the flows of illegal migrants.
Some EU members including Finland and Estonia have accused Russia of allowing illegal migrants from the Middle East and elsewhere to enter EU states via Russia without proper checks, undermining the EU's security.
Moscow has denied Russia was deliberately pushing illegal migrants into the EU.
While NATO remained "the cornerstone" of EU security, the bloc had to tackle wider challenges, Meloni said.
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A fire on a British Airways Boeing 777 at Gatwick Airport last June was caused by a co-pilot mixing up his left and right hands during take-off, according to a report by the UK’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB).
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The Pakistan military has alleged that India fired six ballistic missiles that fell within its own borders.
A diver has died during early recovery operations for British tech tycoon Mike Lynch’s sunken superyacht off the coast of northern Sicily, Italian police confirmed Friday.
A fire on a British Airways Boeing 777 at Gatwick Airport last June was caused by a co-pilot mixing up his left and right hands during take-off, according to a report by the UK’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB).
The Pakistan military has alleged that India fired six ballistic missiles that fell within its own borders.
A diver has died during early recovery operations for British tech tycoon Mike Lynch’s sunken superyacht off the coast of northern Sicily, Italian police confirmed Friday.
A fire on a British Airways Boeing 777 at Gatwick Airport last June was caused by a co-pilot mixing up his left and right hands during take-off, according to a report by the UK’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB).
High tariffs are expected to remain a core feature of Donald Trump's trade policy even after new trade agreements are reached, according to several current and former advisers who spoke with Reuters.
The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv has shared a warning about a possible air attack that could happen in the next few days.
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