Summary of the day
The Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, presented her plan for Italy in Africa as she strives to position her country at the forefront of European cooperation on the African continent in return for curbing illegal migration.
The Italian leader hosted senior officials from Africa and the EU in Rome for a summit.
Meloni said her plan was based on several pillars: education and training, health, agriculture, water and energy.
Moussa Faki Mahamat, chairman of the African Union Commission, said that partnership is based on liberty and consensus, with no side imposing anything.
Roberta Metsola, the European parliament president, said at the summit that the relationship between the two continents “must be characterised by a real partnership of equals”.
Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, said there was a need to get concrete about cooperation and that “interests are aligned more than ever before”.
The European Council president, Charles Michel, said countries were “joining forces on concrete projects that will make a real difference to people’s lives – in energy, security, and resilience”.
Analysts said Meloni’s plan did little on environmental issues that were supposed to be a core pillar.
French farmers driving tractors have made good on a threat to blockade Paris for an indefinite period, stopping traffic on eight main motorways into the city in a row over regulations, pay and taxes.
People-smugglers are increasingly recruiting people from former Soviet republics in central Asia to pilot boats carrying people from Turkey to Italy, say NGOs and lawyers.
Updated
Here are the latest photos from France, where farmers vowed to “besiege” the capital.
