Meloni plan for migrants: new rules for admission and tightening for smugglers

The issue of immigration has returned strongly to the top of the government agenda. The Cutro tragedy, in which dozens of immigrants are killed in a shipwreck a few meters off the Calabrian coast, and arguments over aid and the chain of command force Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to run for cover.

Now Meloni’s problems are on several fronts: She can’t retreat in the always heralded penalty line, but she can’t stay quiet either. He cannot ignore the shock wave that the Minister of Interior Piantedosi created in the execution of his words of too much rigidity and too ostentatious cold bureaucracy in the face of such a shocking event.

What does Meloni plan to do after the Cutro tragedy? There is a little “official”, they all say “rumor”, “filter”. It seems that Meloni is working on an intervention involving several ministries, but this time under her direction. He no longer intends to allow his people to subject the executive to heated debate. The flow decree may be revised.

Let’s start with certainties. Two facts are certain: a Council of Ministers (Cdm) will meet in Cutro and Minister Piantedosi will report to the Chambers on the shipwreck.

Located in a different location than Chigi, CDM was announced by Meloni herself to give a signal of presence. Not new, away meetings before that were led by Prodi, Berlusconi and Conte. An “extreme” solution is a sign. In this case, a sign, if not timely, is at least expected because since the night of the tragedy in Calabria, only Piantedosi has left the government and his words have been a boomerang. Meloni stayed away from Calabria. Absence, which is impossible to ignore and further accentuated by the gestures of President Sergio Mattarella, who went to Cutro: he talked to the wounded, brought gifts to the surviving children, stood silently in front of the coffins, talked. with the families of the victims, showing closeness and humanity. Today – Monday, March 6 – there is no date for the Cabinet, but it should happen within the week.

Another sure truth. Minister Piantedosi must report to Parliament in the next few hours to restructure the dynamics of the intervention in Cutro. But first he will see Meloni. It’s no secret that the Prime Minister does not like the words of the owner of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. It’s not easy to erase the anger that words like “despair can never justify travel conditions that put children’s lives at risk”. And Meloni, the leading Christian mother who was fascinated by the play of Ukrainian children during her visit to Bucha, knows this all too well.

Now let’s move on to possible scenarios. It seems almost certain that Meloni only intended to listen to Piantedosi. He will tell the ex-governor of Rome not to continue tightening the rules on admission and repatriation. It’s not a definitive pause, it’s definitely a postponement. To do so now would be media suicide.

The hypothesis that seems most likely is the initiation of an organic provision involving several ministries, but under the direct direction of Prime Minister Meloni. A versatile approach:

• redefining regular flows of migrants through cooperation agreements with countries of origin to deter irregular departures;
• toughening penalties for human traffickers;
• Simplify return, admission and international protection procedures.

According to the flow decree of 29 December 2022, so far in 2023 82,705 non-EU persons will be able to enter Italy legally to work; 44,000 of them are seasonal workers. There are also 38,705 people who are not seasonal and have a permit to enter Italy to be self-employed; Of these, 30,105 entries are reserved for non-seasonal secondary jobs in the following sectors: road transport, construction, tourism-hotel and this year’s innovations, also mechanics, telecommunications, food and shipbuilding.
Applications were supposed to be completed as of January 30, 2023 and sent through the services portal of the Ministry of Interior as of 09:00 on March 27, 2023. Numbers that can now be revised.

Thus, Meloni would follow the words of the Pope who wanted to stop the goings by tightening the punishments given to the smugglers.

Then it remains to understand how Meloni plans to act in Europe. A more active role has been requested from the EU and the meeting of the European Council of Ministers of Interior will be held in Brussels on 9 March. It may be an opportunity to reiterate the request for support from more landlocked countries than other lands.