German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni have signed a joint action plan aiming to strengthen ties and enhance cooperation in energy, technology, competition, and climate protection.

During their meeting in Berlin, the first German-Italian government meeting since 2016, Scholz emphasized the plan’s aim to initiate new collaborative projects.

The leaders highlighted a focus on increased collaboration in the energy sector, emphasizing securing gas and hydrogen supplies, and announced plans for a trans-alpine pipeline to support this effort.

It’s worth noting that the action plan was initially agreed upon by Meloni’s predecessor, Mario Draghi, and Scholz in 2021.