Premier Giorgia Meloni's cabinet is
meeting on Thursday in Cutro, the Calabrian town off which the
migrant-boat shipwreck that claimed at least 72 lives took place
on February 26.
The cabinet is set to examine a decree that is expected to boost
pathways for legal migration to Italy while increasing penalties
for human traffickers.
A draft of the decree said there would be special work-permit
quotas over the three-year period up to 2025 for countries that
cooperate in discouraging people from trying to enter Italy
illegally.
It said these States should undertake media campaigns that
highlight to their citizens the "risks to their safety" of
trying to get to Italy with the help of human traffickers.
Graffiti criticizing Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi
appeared overnight on the State highway near Cutro.
The minister has faced calls to quit for, among other things,
having suggested refugees like those who lost their lives in the
shipwreck were reckless for attempting hazardous Mediterranean
crossings.
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