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Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has told European Union partners that strong partnerships coupled with strategic investments in African countries are more important than philanthropic offers to curb migration flows from African countries. Told.
ROME–Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Thursday told European Union partners that curbing the influx of migrants from African countries is less about philanthropic offers and more about strong efforts coupled with strategic investments in African countries. He said partnerships are important.
Meloni told reporters at a year-end press conference that last month’s agreement on the EU’s Migration and Refugee Treaty had partially improved the situation in Italy and other refugee-hosting countries, but it did not provide a solution to the growing number of migrant arrivals. He said it would not happen.
“What we need to do in Africa is not charity,” she says. “What we need to do in Africa is to build cooperation and serious strategic relationships, where we are equals, not predators.”
Meloni also stressed the need to “defend the right not to migrate…and this can be achieved through investment and strategy.”
The reforms agreed by EU leaders last month are based on a new set of regulations governing how member states deal with people arriving in Europe. The agreement has been heavily criticized by humanitarian groups who say it undermines the rights of people on the move.
Meloni also said that aiding Africa’s development and the dangers posed by artificial intelligence (AI) will be among Italy’s key themes during its one-year Presidency of the Group of Seven (G7), which Rome took over in early January. He said it would happen.
Italy has outlined its proposed strategy in Africa with the so-called Mattei Plan, named after Enrico Mattei, founder of state oil and gas giant Eni, which aims to expand cooperation beyond energy.
Meloni said the plan includes specific projects, but gave no details, adding that they would be announced in the coming weeks.
Italy’s leader has admitted that results in combating illegal immigration, one of the far-right coalition’s top priorities, have so far been disappointing.
Meloni’s government has drawn criticism from aid groups and left-wing opposition parties for approving stricter immigration laws, restrictions on maritime rescue operations and plans to build a migrant reception center in Albania. However, her campaign promise to stop large-scale immigration into Italy has gone largely unfulfilled.
In 2023, the road from North Africa across the central Mediterranean to Italy will become Europe’s busiest migration route.
A total of 260,662 people have crossed the Mediterranean Sea from North Africa to reach Europe since the beginning of 2023, according to UNHCR.
Migrants arriving in Italy in 2023 increased by 50% compared to the previous year, according to data from Italy’s Interior Ministry. Around 155,750 migrants arrived on Italian shores last year, including more than 17,000 unaccompanied minors, compared to 103,850 in 2022.
“The data on immigration is not satisfactory, especially given the amount of work we have put into it,” Meloni said, adding that he would continue to work with African countries to prevent illegal migrants from leaving the country.
“My goal is to operate in Africa, to prevent departures to Africa, to assess the possibility of developing hotspots in Africa, to establish who has the right to come to Europe and who does not. That’s true,” Meloni added. “At the same time, we will also address legal immigration.”
The Italian Prime Minister also addressed other international topics, clarifying Rome’s position on the Israel-Hamas war.
Regarding the future of Palestinians in Gaza, Meloni said, “I think it’s a mistake to say, ‘First we’ll destroy Hamas and then we’ll talk.” “Because one of the most effective means of exposing Hamas, which has no interest in the Palestinian cause, is to work on a serious structural solution to the Palestinian problem.”
Meloni announced the move after parliament last month rejected a motion to ratify the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), which was aimed at addressing the risk that Italy could become isolated in Europe and strengthening institutions to oversee troubled countries. called it “outdated”.
He added that Italy’s failure to ratify the fund reform could be an opportunity to make the fund “more efficient.”
Italy remains the only EU member state that has not ratified the treaty, which can only be implemented with the approval of all national parliaments.
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Follow AP’s global migration coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/migration.
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