2023-09-17 15:41:29
The president of the European Commission (EC), Ursula Von der Leyen, tried to show this Sunday that Italy is not alone in the face of the migration challenge with the visit she made to Lampedusa, the small island located in the central Mediterranean where more than 10,000 immigrants in recent days, a figure higher than the local population, made up of about 6,000 neighbors. Accompanied by the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, Von der Leyen visited the reception center, which had been cleaned after the collapse of the previous days and where she did not meet with the displaced, to later present a plan with 10 points with which confront the arrival of undocumented immigrants to Europe.
«Irregular immigration is a European challenge and needs a European response. We are in this together,” said the ‘number one’ of the EC, advocating the implementation of “concrete actions” based on “solidarity and unity” among the Twenty-Seven. “Italy can count on the European Union,” she even dared to say in Italian.
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Beyond the usual promises to promote cooperation with countries of origin and transit, the harsh tone against human trafficking networks and the commitment to promote legal means to emigrate to Europe, although without clarifying the specific aspects, Von der Leyen’s support for Meloni’s proposal to tackle this problem was striking. It is about launching a European naval mission to prevent boats loaded with migrants from North Africa from reaching the Italian coast. It would be a reissue of operation ‘Sofia’, started in 2015 but closed four years later for supposedly having a ‘call effect’ for migrants. “I support the possibility of starting new missions in the Mediterranean,” said the president of the European Commission.
Meloni pointed out that this eventual deployment should “start” from Sofia’s experience, but in such a way that the presence of the ships at sea, in coordination with the authorities of the North African countries, serves as a deterrent factor and not a call. “It is the only serious way to address this issue,” highlighted the head of the Executive in Rome, who advocated for “accelerating the implementation” of the European agreement with Tunisia and even opened the possibility of Brussels financing part of its Budgets. Von der Leyen considered that if the experience with Tunisia is finally positive, it could be replicated with other transit nations for migrants.
Permanence of immigrants
These issues will be presented by Meloni at the next European Council, convened in October. Furthermore, in the Council of Ministers that the Italian Government is holding this Monday, rules will be approved to maximize the length of stay of irregular immigrants in reception centers, so that their repatriation to their nations of origin can be guaranteed. To do this, Meloni commissioned the Ministry of Defense to organize a network of shelters throughout the country.
So far this year, more than 127,000 people have disembarked irregularly in Italy, double that of the same period in 2022. The increase is largely explained by the serious economic, political and social crisis suffered by Tunisia, which has made it easier for sub-Saharan migrants to embark from their coasts to Europe. Tunisians also constitute the third most common national group among immigrants who arrive in Italy after crossing the Sicilian Channel. This increase has caused Meloni to receive criticism for his immigration management even from the League, one of the parties in the conservative coalition that supports the Executive of Rome.
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