Italy committed to Europe, Nato: PM

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni confirmed her government's support for the European Union, Nato and Ukraine yesterday in her first address to parliament, one month after her far-right party won a historic election victory. The 45-year-old, who was sworn in as Italy's first woman premier on Saturday, also rejected any links with her country's fascist past, saying she had "never felt sympathy or closeness to undemocratic regimes... including fascism". "Italy is fully part of Europe and the Western world," Meloni told the lower house of parliament, adding that it would "continue to be a reliable partner of Nato in supporting Ukraine". Meloni said she would not give in to "Putin's blackmail on energy".