As part of a three-day state visit to Germany, Italian President Sergio Mattarella visited the state of North Rhine-Westphalia on Saturday, including attending a climate conference in Bonn with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
Steinmeier said cooperation is essential in the fight against global warming. “The recent floods in Poland, Romania, Austria and the Czech Republic, as well as the fires in Portugal and Greece, illustrate the urgency of this task,” he said.
Italy and Germany are working together on, among other things, the creation of a climate-neutral European energy system. There is also cooperation in the field of meteorology for better prediction of extreme weather.
The two presidents then boarded a ship to sail down the Rhine to Cologne, where their program includes a visit to the cathedral and a meeting with representatives of the Italian community.
Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst of North Rhine-Westphalia noted in a statement that many people in his state have Italian roots. In the 1950s, many Italians came to the state as so-called ‘guest workers’, especially to the industrial Ruhr area and the city of Cologne.
Wüst praised Mattarella as a thoroughly convinced European. “At a time when we need to stand together in Europe more than ever, President Mattarella lends his strong voice to this unity in Italy. Current European challenges such as migration, maintaining internal security and the future viability of the economy unite our two countries,” Wüst said.
Mattarella is considered one of the founders of the Italian Social Democratic Party.
Politically, he is far removed from Italy’s far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her Brothers of Italy party.
On Sunday, Mattarella and Steinmeier plan to continue their journey together to Italy, where they will take part in a commemorative event in Bologna to mark the 80th anniversary of the Marzabotto massacre.
The massacre is considered one of the most serious war crimes committed by German soldiers in Italy during World War II.
