Starmer: ‘Italy, Albania plan a success’
“We will consider all measures based on pragmatism”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has praised Italian Prime Minister Giorgio Meloni’s immigration policies.
According to Politico, Prime Minister Starmer praised Prime Minister Meloni at a joint press conference held in the Italian capital Rome on the 16th (local time), saying, “Prime Minister Meloni has made remarkable progress in reducing illegal immigration.”
“We have made remarkable progress, such as working with countries along the migration route on an equal footing to tackle migration drivers at their source and tackling organized crime. As a result, fraudulent arrivals to Italy by sea have decreased by 60% since 2022,” he said. “We are delighted to be strengthening our cooperation here.”
He also said, “I discussed with Prime Minister Meloni the Italian plan for Albania,” adding, “We discussed the concept of this plan along with preventive measures, since the (illegal immigration) numbers here have decreased considerably.”
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Starmer, who has raised the banner of pragmatism, has indicated that he will review all policies that are effective. He viewed Italy’s policy toward Albania as an effort to solve the problem at its source.
However, Prime Minister Starmer has not fully backed the Albania plan, which has been delayed and has been criticised within Italy for “outsourcing international obligations”.
Some in the British Labour Party have taken a negative view of this move. Prime Minister Starmer has tried to quell internal strife by saying that “Britain is returning to pragmatism.”
Prime Minister Meloni said Prime Minister Starmer was “very interested in what the Italian government was thinking”.
Asked whether she would adopt a policy similar to the Albania plan, British Home Secretary Yvette Cooper left the possibility open, saying: “We would look at everything that would work.”
Albania will accept migrants from Africa, Asia, and other regions heading to Italy while their asylum applications are being processed in two facilities on its territory for five years. The maximum number of people accepted is 3,000 per month, or 36,000 per year. Italy will have to pay Albania about 650 million euros (about 958.7 billion won) over the five-year contract.
The agreement has been criticized by the Albanian and Italian opposition parties, and international human rights groups have joined in, with the policy being branded as the “outsourcing of asylum.”
Italy has long struggled with African and Asian migrants.
According to the Italian Interior Ministry, more than 157,000 migrants landed on the country’s shores last year, with the largest influx coming from Ivory Coast, Egypt, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
The Labour government led by Prime Minister Starmer is taking steps to scrap the ‘Rwanda policy’ promoted by the Conservative government led by former British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
During the tenure of former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the British government pursued the so-called Rwanda policy, which involved sending illegal immigrants and asylum seekers to Rwanda in Africa for refugee screening.
The UK Home Office has pledged to provide funds to support the cost of migration and economic growth in Rwanda to implement the policy. As part of this, the UK has already handed over 220 million pounds (about 384.6 billion won) to Rwanda by the end of last year.
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2024-09-18 01:00:57