European legislation requires Italy to accept all migrants and process all asylum requests, without returning them. Once their request for asylum has been released, the vast majority of them appeal … and are then lost in view. Even when they are found and held again, many do not leave due to the lack of cooperation of their country of origin.
When Giorgia Meloni entered the government in October 2022, she tried to set up a blockade, a categorical refusal to open Italian ports to the NGO boats carrying migrants, in order to discourage them. Since November of the same year, this firmness has been undermined by Emmanuel Macron and the French government, who have accepted the Viking Ocean and its migrants rejected by Italy. Gérald Darmanin had even announced sanctions against our Transalpine partner.
“The Italian approach to the issue of irregular immigration is serious, credible and predicting”
At the same time, Italian judges declared war on the government, canceling the laws voted by parliamentarians and threatening the ministers involved in the fight against illegal immigration and accomplices NGOs. Giorgia Meloni had to adapt, change strategy and find solutions. The figures are there: in 2023, 157,651 illegal immigrants landed in Italy. A year later, arrivals decreased by 60 %.
Partnerships with North African countries
To effectively fight against illegal immigration, the Meloni government innovated by establishing international partnerships with countries where human beings operate. One year after its entry into office, Giorgia Meloni formalized the strategic plan for diplomacy, cooperation and development for Africa, called “Mattei Plan”, in November 2023.
The Italian approach to the issue of irregular immigration is serious, credible and provident. The will of Giorgia Meloni is to create wealth and jobs in Africa to avoid departures and too many deaths at sea, and to create non -predatory strategic partnerships which can promote the growth of Africa. After obtaining the support of the European Council, Italy and the EU signed treaties with Tunisia, Libya and Egypt: economic, energy and migratory partnerships to help these countries defend their southern borders and thus protect the coasts of our continent.
The border of the Sahara is the first border in Europe. If migrants cross it, transit countries have every interest in letting them go north rather than retaining them and accepting the physical and economic insecurity they cause. The mutually beneficial partnership with the Maghreb countries, which contributes to their stability without giving them moral lessons, is the first victory of Italy in Brussels.
“The Italian government sends hard signals to the migrants themselves”
Italy has strengthened its cooperation with its European neighbors. Giorgia Meloni had the height necessary to ignore the criticisms of Paris and get closer to France. On October 24, 2024, the creation of a Franco-Italian operational research unit to combat illegal immigration was announced. A similar initiative is already underway with Slovenia, which has allowed – in just three months – the arrest of nearly 2,000 illegal immigrants and 55 traffickers.
The Italian government has decided to tackle facilitators in migrant traffic: the work of certain “humanitarian” NGOs in the Mediterranean. These NGOs are now obliged to sign a code of good conduct, which prohibits a certain number of practices, starting with “Multiple operations” At sea: after each rescue, the boats must return to a port instead of continuing to patrol. In addition, NGOs that use planes to detect distress boats are exposed to fines of up to 10,000 euros and a prohibition of access to certain airports, including that of Lampedusa. Those who do not respect these rules can be sanctioned and their boats can be entered.
Many surveys have been opened against NGOs, suspected of collaborating with traffickers, waiting for boats off the African coast. The attitude of NGOs creates, at least, an air call that encourages migrants to try the crossing. The round trips imposed by Italy are expensive, considerably reducing the activity of NGOs, with the automatic consequence of a decrease in the number of departures … and a decrease in the activities of these organizations. Doctors Without Borders, unemployed, announced last December the cessation of his research in the Mediterranean. Let us not forget that these operations are a financial lever for associations, which collect funds to remunerate their activists.
The Italian government sends hard signals to the migrants themselves. He opened reception centers and extended the period of detention of irregular migrants to eighteen months, the maximum authorized by Brussels. This longer period makes it possible to better protect the Italian population from migratory flows. In France, the maximum retention time is three months…
Furthermore, the list of “safe countries” – third countries considered respectful of fundamental rights, to which migrants in an irregular situation can be repatriated within the framework of accelerated procedures – was revised by decree in October 2024. The objective is to facilitate the processing of asylum requests and to strengthen migratory agreements, such as that signed with Albania to come to assistance to migrants.
A global approach
Rome was thus able to open two examination centers for asylum applications in Albania. These “hotspots”, strongly disputed by Italian judges, have the value of a test: if they operate, others could be opened in Africa, thus reducing the incitement of migrants to join Europe. Under the leadership of Giorgia Meloni, this revision of the list of safe countries and the creation of extracommunicative “hotspots” are now an official objective of the European Commission.
The Italian government is aware of the nature of the challenge which, beyond the migratory question, is demographic. While illegal immigration is in free fall, the very low birth rate of Italy-1.18 children per woman in 2024-now obliges her to accept legal immigrants, in particular to support her agricultural industries and their workforce.
These immigrants are carefully selected, seasonal, without a prospect of nationality acquisition and come from countries that have undertaken to welcome them. And the long -term objective remains to be able to do without it. Rome has therefore launched major projects to end the assistantship, free the economy and support families. Substantial aid has been implemented: increased allowances for families of three and more children, one month of parental leave paid 80 % (instead of 60 % before), a bonus of 1,000 euros for the birth of a child in the most modest families, tax alleys, etc.
The Meloni government has also allocated around 1 billion euros since 2023 to help women reconcile maternity and professional life. He introduced the “Kindergarten Bonus”, a program that partially reimburses the cost of public or private children’s gardens. It facilitates generational transition in companies. These measures have already proven their effectiveness in Hungary, where the birth rate increased from 1.25 to 1.61 in a few years.
All these measures testify to an investment and a vision so that Italy remains anchored in its Italian and European identity. An example that France would do well to imitate.
*Carlo Fidanza is MEP ECR, Head of the Delegation Fratelli of Italia in the European Parliament and vice-president of the ECR group.
Nicolas Bay is a member of the European Parliament and vice-president of the ECR group.
