Merz backs bigger role for Italy in Europe's Ukraine efforts

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Saturday that he is in favour of Italy's closer involvement in European efforts to end the war in Ukraine.

After a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome, Merz said: "We agreed that Italy must play a role here."

He added that he would hold talks with other European partners on the matter in the coming days.

"We must not allow ourselves to be divided in the European Union. There are no first or second-class members," the new chancellor said.

Meloni's recent absence from a visit to Kiev by the leaders of France, the United Kingdom, Poland and Germany had caused irritation in Italy.

According to media reports, Meloni did not attend at the insistence of French President Emmanuel Macron.

After the meeting with Merz, Meloni said - without naming names - that now might be the time to "set aside personal sensitivities that threaten to undermine the vital and fundamental unity of the West."

Merz described Italy, which has been ruled by a right-wing coalition since 2022, as an "indispensable strategic partner."

Ahead of Merz's visit to Rome, a report by the German conservative daily Die Welt caused a stir, stating that Italy, unlike France and Poland, was deliberately not explicitly mentioned as a strategically important partner country in the German government's coalition agreement.

This was reportedly at the insistence of Merz's coalition partner, the Social Democratic Party (SPD).

Leading Italian politicians, including Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, expressed outrage at the report.

"The reports about this are all false," Merz emphasized after the meeting, adding that there was "no contentious discussion at any time about Italy's role in the European Union" among the coalition partners' chief negotiators.

The visit marked Merz's first trip to Italy since taking office. He is in Rome to attend the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV on Sunday.