WARSAW, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Poland and Italy have vowed to strengthen the European Union and ensure the safety of its citizens, Polish Interior and Administration Minister Joachim Brudzinski said here on Wednesday.
As integral parts of the EU, Poland and Italy have no plans to leave the community. Instead, they want to have an influence on what the common European home is going to look like, Brudzinski told a press conference convened after a meeting with his Italian counterpart Matteo Salvini.
It is a "mission impossible" for anyone who wants to place the two countries in an anti-European position, said the Polish minister.
He assured that cooperation between Poland and Italy will continue, and stressed that both countries want to strengthen the EU.
"We want to ensure the safety of the whole community and reform it in such a way that it is closer to the citizens," he said.
In addition, the two ministers discussed topics related to migration and the situation in North Africa and the Middle East.
"I would like to stress that in Poland's opinion, for people affected by war conflicts, the most effective is on-site assistance, meaning on the site where the citizens of these countries are experiencing a real tragedy," said Brudzinski.
He added that the Polish government had increased the amount of money available for humanitarian and development aid every year.
"In the year 2017, the amount of aid was six times higher than in 2015, and this strategy was consistently implemented also in 2018," he said.
Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said Italy and Poland are seeking to create a "new spring" in Europe and a "new balance" in order to revive the "real European values".
Apart from meeting with Brudzinski, Salvini also met with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and the leader of the ruling right-wing PiS party, Jaroslaw Kaczynski.
