The Italian government on Monday
approved a package of measures to address the migrant emergency
amid an unprecedented upsurge of arrivals from North Africa,
mainly on the southern island of Lampedusa.
Among the new moves will be the extension of detention ahead of
repatriations, new migrant pre-removal detention centres (CPRs)
in 'low-impact' areas, and keeping a close eye on EU commitments
especially regarding a landmark deal with Tunisia.
Italy will "closely follow" the commitments on migrants made by
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on her visit
to Lampedusa Sunday, and especially her pledge to free up cash
for a landmark deal with Tunisia, Premier Giorgia Meloni
reportedly said after the cabinet approved the migrant emergency
package, according to sources at the meeting.
Meloni had said alongside von der Leyen, whom she invited to
Lampedusa to see the situation for herself, that the emergency
had placed Italy under "unsustainable pressure.
"The government will follow with great attention, step by step,
the commitments that Europe has undertaken with Italy, starting
with the commitment to quickly release the resources provided
for in the Memorandum with Tunisia," she said.
The memorandum signed by Meloni, von der Leyen and Dutch PM
Mark Rutte with President Kais Saied in mid-July provides for a
"strategic and comprehensive partnership" aimed at combatting
irregular migration and boosting economic ties between the bloc
and the North African country, which lies on a major route for
migrants and refugees travelling to Europe.
Von der Leyen also said there was the possibility of a fresh
naval mission to curb migrant smugglers, in a 10-point plan she
unveiled at Lampedusa.
But any naval mission would necessarily fall far short of the
"naval blockade" Meloni invoked before she became premier a year
ago.
Meloni stressed: "The presence of President von der Leyen in
Lampedusa yesterday is very important also from a symbolic point
of view.
"The presence of Europe at the borders most exposed to mass
illegal immigration underlines that those of Lampedusa are not
only Italian borders but also European ones."
Lampedusa, Italy's southernmost tip, lies closer to Tunisia than
to Italy.
Monday's package also extends the maximum length of time it is
possible to detain migrants who are set to be repatriated
because they are not eligible for asylum to 18 months.
On Friday Meloni had said the maximum time that asylum seekers
can be kept at reception centres would remain at 12 months.
Meloni on Monday denied that the planned new pre-removal
detention centres (CPRs) for migrants and asylum seekers who are
not eligible to remain in Italy will create unease and
insecurity in cities.
"Today we will mandate the Defence Ministry to build facilities
to detain illegal immigrants as quickly as possible," Meloni
reportedly said during a cabinet meeting on the migrant
emergency.
"Years of pro-immigration policies have meant that there are
very few places available in CPRs in Italy today," she
continued.
"The new CPRs that will be built must be in locations with very
low population density and that are easy to fence off and to
monitor. They will not create further malaise and insecurity in
the cities," added Meloni.
The provisions for the creation of new pre-removal detention
facilities and to extend to 18 months the maximum length of time
it is possible to detain migrants pending repatriation are to be
included in a decree law containing measures benefitting
southern regions, which was approved by the government last week
but has not yet been published in the official gazzette.
The ruling centre-right coalition shares a common vision on how
to tackle the increase in migrants and refugees arriving in
Italy from north Africa, Meloni reportedly told her cabinet.
"I would like to express great satisfaction at the unity and
great teamwork of the entire government in dealing with the
immigration emergency and finding concrete solutions to the
strong pressure exerted by the flows of irregular immigrants on
our coasts," sources reported Meloni as saying.
"It is the confirmation that, on these issues as on many others,
the entire centre-right has the same vision and that everyone is
working in the same direction, despite what some are trying to
say," she added.
Meloni said this sense of united purpose was less the case in
some Italian and European leftwing circles, which she accused of
"rowing against" the government's migration policies.
Meloni accused EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep
Borrell and parties of the Left in Italy and the rest of Europe
of working against solutions to stop the arrival of large
numbers of migrants.
The reference to Borrell is linked to a letter he reportedly
sent on September 7 to Enlargement Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi
criticising the adoption of the Memorandum of Understanding with
Tunisia for cooperation in stemming the flow of migrants from
the coast of the North African country.
Meloni was highly instrumental in bringing about the agreement.
"I am sorry to see some Italian and European political parties
are rowing in the opposite direction and doing everything they
can to dismantle the work that is being done because of
ideological reasons or, worse still, political calculations,"
Meloni said, accoding to the sources.
"I am referring to the letter of the High Representative for
European Foreign Policy Borrell, to the appeals made by the
European Socialists, and to the positions taken by various
members of the Left (against the MOU).
"All these actions go in the same direction, trying to argue
that no North African country is a safe State with which it is
possible to agree to stop departures or to repatriate illegal
immigrants.
"Basically, the European Left wants to make mass illegal
immigration unavoidable'.
Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said at the UN that the Tunisia
deal must be respected since it was signed by the EC, and that
Borrell's reservations may have been influenced by the EP
Socialists' stance.
He also said that the migrant situation was "not explosive, it
has already exploded".
The EC chief's 10-point plan includes a possible new EU naval
mission in the Mediterranean, faster repatriations of people
whose asylum claims have been rejected and humanitarian
corridors for legal arrivals.
"We will decide who arrives in Europe, not the traffickers," von
der Leyen stressed Sunday.
Here is her 10-point plan. 1. Reinforce the support to Italy by
the European Union Asylum Agency (EUAA) and the European Border
and Coast Guard (Frontex) to manage the high number of migrants
to ensure registration of arrivals, fingerprinting, debriefing
and referral to the appropriate authorities. 2. Support the
transfer of people out of Lampedusa, including to other Member
States using the voluntary solidarity mechanism and with
particular attention to unaccompanied minors and women. 3. Step
up returns by undertaking a renewed, concerted outreach to the
main countries of origin of the new arrivals, namely Guinea,
Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal and Burkina Faso so as to improve
cooperation and facilitate readmission; and increase the support
by Frontex, including as regards training and capacity building,
to ensure the swift implementation of returns. 4. Support the
prevention of departures by establishing operational
partnerships on anti-smuggling with countries of origin and
transit. This includes the possibility of a working arrangement
between Tunisia and Frontex, and a coordination task force in
Europol to focus on anti-smuggling along the route to Tunisia
and onward to Lampedusa. 5. Step up border surveillance at sea
and aerial surveillance including through Frontex, and explore
options to expand naval missions in the Mediterranean.
Furthermore, we will speed up supply of equipment and increase
training for the Tunisian coast guards and other law enforcement
authorities. 6. Take measures to limit the use of unseaworthy
vessels and take action against the supply chains and logistics
of smugglers; and ensure the disabling of recuperated boats and
dinghies. 7. Increase support by the EUAA to apply swift border
and accelerated procedures, including the use of the safe
country of origin concept, rejecting applications as manifestly
unfounded, issuing entry bans and recording them in the Schengen
Information System (SIS). 8. Increase awareness and
communication campaigns to disincentivise the Mediterranean
crossings, while continue working to offer alternatives such as
humanitarian admission and legal pathways. 9. Step up
cooperation with UNHCR and IOM to adopt a comprehensive
route-based approach to ensure protection along the route and to
increase assisted voluntary return from countries of transit.
10. Implement the EU-TU Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and
prioritise actions with immediate impact to address the current
situation and accelerate the contracting of new projects under
the MoU.
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