The drop in the number of sea
arrivals in October compared to the same month in 2022 shows
that the work done so far to stop irregular migration is
beginning to bear fruit, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni told the
Senate in her communications to parliament ahead of the European
Council in Brussels.
"For the first time in the month of October the number of
irregular migrants has decreased, the work done is beginning to
bear fruit," said Meloni.
This is also as a result of the "agreement with Tunisia, despite
the fact that one political side has tried in every way to
sabotage it" she added, referring to parties in Italy and Europe
on the political left who she claims have tried to argue that no
North African country is a safe State with which it is possible
to agree to stop departures or to repatriate irregular migrants.
"No more open doors and redistribution (of arrivals), but
protection of external borders, a relentless fight against human
trafficking, agreements with third countries, legal channels for
refugees and quotas of legal migrants compatible with the needs
of our economic system: this is the approach that we have
advocated for this year and that has found its way into more
than one official document; it is the one that inspired the
EU-Tunisia memorandum and led the European Commission to present
the ten-point action plan illustrated by President Ursula Von
der Leyen in Lampedusa," Meloni continued.
Meloni was instrumental in brokering the memorandum signed by
the EU and Tunisia in mid-July to promote cooperation and
financial assistance in the areas of macro-economic stability,
trade and investment, green energy transition, people-to people
contacts, and migration.
Meloni has said she considered it a "model" for relations
between the bloc and north African countries.
Tunisia is in the midst of severe financial crisis and the
unstable situation has been a major factor in a significant
increase in the number of migrants and refugees arriving in
Italy by sea so far this year.
On Wednesday Meloni told parliament the recent fall in arrivals
"is certainly the fruit of a strengthened political will to
implement (the memorandum)".
However, she said the figures are also "the result of bilateral
action taken by Italy with the Tunisian government, aimed at
strengthening cooperation in the fight against migrant
smuggling".
"We know that this framework needs to be stabilised, but it is
the right path and we must pursue it without hesitation," she
concluded.
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