European Union leaders have offered Giorgia Meloni an olive branch after the Italian leader was shut out of discussions on top Brussels appointments.
Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, was endorsed by EU leaders on Thursday night for a second five-year term, diplomats said, but only after she wrote to them offering pledges on migration policy.
Meloni, the Italian prime minister, abstained, rather than voting in support for von der Leyen, whose appointment must still be ratified by MEPs. Viktor Orban, the prime minister of Hungary, voted against.
In her letter, the commission president hailed a 60 per cent reduction in Mediterranean crossings as the result of tougher policies and referred to looking at more “innovative strategies”, including a focus on