Darius Minor
Correspondent. Rome
Monday, September 16, 2024, 8:55 p.m.
So far in 2024, 44,676 migrants have reached the Italian coasts crossing the Central Mediterranean, 65% less than in the same period of the previous year, when there were 128,815. With the aim of knowing first-hand the reasons for this “drastic reduction”, as he himself acknowledged, the British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, met this Monday in Rome with his Italian counterpart, Giorgia Meloni, who was delighted to explain to a leader at the ideological antipodes like the London Labour leader the keys to this decrease in landings.
The right-wing leader also took the opportunity to use as an example to follow in Europe the controversial agreement with Albania to open two reception centres in the Balkan country for immigrants trying to reach Italy. These two infrastructures should have been up and running before the summer, but their opening continues to be delayed and they will not be operational for several weeks, according to Meloni.
“We agree on the need to step up the fight against human traffickers and that we must not be afraid to explore new solutions,” said the head of the Rome Executive in her joint appearance with Starmer. The predecessor of the current prime minister, the conservative Rishi Sunak, already anticipated the Italian initiative with Albania by promoting a controversial law to send migrants who had entered the United Kingdom illegally to Rwanda.
‘Plan Rwanda’
Although Starmer said after taking office that the so-called “Rwanda plan” was “dead and buried” with the coming to power of the Labour Party, he did not think that an agreement very similar in essence to the one reached between Rome and Tirana was bad at all. “We have talked about the Albania model, which is not yet operational and we do not know its outcome. But we have talked about the concept,” acknowledged the British Prime Minister, stressing the importance of tackling irregular immigration at its source.
“I have always maintained that it is better to prevent than to manage migrants,” she said, before going on to claim her supposed “pragmatism.” “We spoke with our friends and allies about the various positions adopted, about what works and what doesn’t. This is the position we have adopted today,” she stressed. Delighted by the British support, Meloni boasted of the agreement signed with the Albanian Prime Minister, Edi Rama, considering it “key” to addressing the migration challenge “in a different way.”
“It is a deterrent to putting oneself in the hands of criminal organisations,” said the Italian Prime Minister. Asked about guarantees that the rights of migrants in the refugee camps in Albania would be respected, Meloni stressed that “Italian and European jurisdiction” would apply in these centres.
The British and Italian leaders also discussed the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, but the leader of Rome did not commit to giving the green light for the use of long-range missiles in Russia by Kiev forces, as Starmer had requested.
#Starmer #blesses #Meloni #deal #send #migrants #Albania #Diario #Vasco