On 17 January 2024, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, travelled to Forlì, Italy. On this occasion, Ursula von der Leyen met with Giorgia Meloni, Italian Prime Minister, Stefano Bonaccini, President of the Emilia-Romagna Region, Gian Luca Zattini, Mayor of Forlì, and other mayors of the Emilia-Romagna Region, a few months after the floods that occurred in the region. Later, Ursula von der Leyen and Giorgia Meloni had a bilateral meeting followed by a press conference. Ursula von der Leyen gave a speech remembering the solidarity after the floods and stressing the cooperation between the EU and Italy by concluding the revision of NextGenerationEU, with the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. She also announced EUR 1.2 billion to Emilia-Romagna to improve flood protection or the repair of infrastructure, as well as agriculture funds for an emergency reserve. Finally, Ursula von der Leyen underlined the consequences of the climate change and the importance of investments in renewable energy and in clean technologies.

This video shows the press statements by Ursula von der Leyen and Giorgia Meloni.