EU Summit: Meloni says, ‘Industry at risk with the ETS’. Then a compromise. Seven-day extension of the Schengen travel ban with Spain

But negotiations continued, amidst heated exchanges. This led to the final text of the conclusions, which remains vague. It emphasises the need to ensure ‘as a matter of urgency a well-functioning, transparent and predictable carbon market, to provide effective protection against carbon leakage, to reduce the volatility of the carbon price and to mitigate its impact on electricity prices’. Yet the same text cautions: all this must be done ‘whilst preserving the essential role of the ETS in addressing climate change and the energy transition through a market-based price signal for carbon emissions that guides investment and innovation’. In short, no U-turn. And no acceptance, at least for now, of the prospect of ‘temporary exceptions’ such as those mentioned by Italia, which had been granted to the Iberian Peninsula.

The rejection of suspensions or further reforms beyond those already underway, because – as the Nordic countries have firmly emphasised – those who have invested must not be penalised, and those who have not taken steps to phase out fossil fuels must not be given an advantage. There was also clear opposition to the idea of postponing the entry into force of ETS2 beyond 2028 from those who have already set in motion plans to extend the ETS to road transport and the heating of buildings. Here, mediation proved even more complicated. It concluded with a call for the Commission to ‘update the assessment of all the impacts of ETS2, in particular with regard to its design and the relevant safeguards’. A faint glimmer of hope, which Italia will try to cling to.

Tensions rose yesterday, even with Spain under the leadership of the socialist Pedro Sánchez. This came on the day the suspension of the Schengen Agreement – imposed by Italia following the events in Ceuta – was due to expire. Until the evening, the decision on a possible further extension remained pending. Then, this morning, sources at Palazzo Chigi reported that, following discussions between Rome and Madrid, Italia had decided to extend the temporary border controls on crossings with Spain by seven days, ‘so as to bring them into line with the expiry of the Spanish measures’. Over the course of next week, “the respective interior ministers will work together to assess ‘alternative’ cooperation measures”.

It was precisely the Ceuta case, however, that brought Italy, the Netherlands and Denmark together once again; this morning, they convened the informal group on migration ahead of the dedicated working session. There were 18 countries present: in addition to the three countries and the European Commission, these included Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Croatia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden. The discussion centred on ‘the prevention of mass irregular arrivals, the exploitation of migrants and the implementation of the new European regulatory framework’.

Meloni emphasised the need ‘to maintain a high level of vigilance at the Union’s external borders, focusing on preventing irregular migration and the associated security risks’. This approach, centred on ‘responsibility’, aims to foster a shared commitment to avoiding the pull factor, that is to say the ‘attraction’ effect generated by policies that could send signals of vulnerability to human trafficking networks, as (the implicit subtext suggests) happened in the Spanish exclave in Morocco.

Yesterday, however, Meloni decided to meet the leader of Vox Santiago Abascal, in Brussels for the Patriots’ summit. A “fruitful face-to-face meeting with my friend Giorgia Meloni”, Abascal wrote on social media, urging Spain (which is set to hold a snap election on 29 November) to follow Italia’s right-wing path, as it is now “a stronger and more respected nation”.

This morning we’ll be looking at the Ukraine dossier, with our guest Zelensky. Meloni will reiterate the urgent need for a single negotiator for Europe or a framework legitimised by a clear mandate. Meanwhile, in the US, Trump’s spokesperson has responded to the rejection of the agreement with Putin on Russian diesel: ‘It’s a great deal to bring prices down.’ After all, at Palazzo Chigi, any further attacks from the tycoon have been factored in.