Address the migrant dossier seriously, concretely and quickly: this is the common position of the Med9 countries, gathered in Malta, at a time of strong migratory pressure, and illustrated by the Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, on the sidelines of the meeting and a trilateral with French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. But there is also a rock guest: Germany, about which the Prime Minister spares no effort on the issue of NGO funding: «I understand the German government’s position, but if they want to go back on the NGO rules, then we propose another amendment according to which the country responsible for receiving migrants transported on an NGO ship is the country of the ship’s flag. Solidarity cannot be achieved with the limits of others.” Then he reveals: «Yesterday I had some conversations with Chancellor Scholz. Half a step back.” It all stems from the money granted by Berlin to non-governmental organizations, especially the 780 thousand euros sent to SOS Humanity, one of the twelve NGOs that fly the German flag and operate in the Mediterranean.
Another 420,000 goes to the Community of Sant’Egidio, which does not deal with rescues at sea, but rather with assistance projects on land. Remember that Germany provided a total of 6 million in funding to be spread over three years, which is why other beneficiaries will also be identified in the coming weeks. The prime minister arrived in Valletta preceded by a letter sent in recent days to the leaders of Cyprus, Croatia, France, Greece, Malta, Portugal, Spain and Slovenia, in which she called for cohesion. «For Italy, the priority is the issue of migration and I am happy with the convergence we have found. It’s time to address the issue in a concrete, possibly definitive way.
Anyone who believed that the migration crisis could be resolved by a single country was mistaken, because in the absence of structural solutions everyone would be overwhelmed.” The prime minister also found support in Macron, who in his final statements stressed: the issue of migration “is an exceptional situation, especially the one that affected Lampedusa. There must be a single European response. We must all show solidarity with Italy and the first ports of call. This concerns Italy, Spain, Greece.” For Meloni «the action plan presented by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Lampedusa is an excellent starting point, which however must now be implemented and operational. We also had a meeting parallel with the president and French president Emmanuel Macron on the next steps that should be taken with a view to the Granada summit”. And here too Macron is in the same line: “We support the 10-point plan presented by Ursula von der Leyen and we would like to implement it, especially with Tunisia and Libya. We proposed to our colleagues the implementation of these ten points and I hope that at European level in the coming days we can work together on this issue in order to improve the partnership with countries of origin in Africa and with those in transit”.
At the end of Med9, Meloni is satisfied: «It seems to me that there is a desire to address the issue seriously, concretely and quickly. I’m not going to talk about the approach because I now take it for granted; I also saw this in this morning’s debate, which involves nine countries, the Commission and the Council. I was very clear in explaining the issue as I see it and the impact it is having on Italy, as well as the solutions. The convergence between these countries, which in the European Council are those that most experience the phenomenon, is fully shared” and “certainly the Med9 countries already in Grenada”, at the informal European Council of October 6, “can allow us to take steps back from you. Then you have to be good on a daily basis to ensure things move forward, but I certainly see a desire, it’s there on paper.”
Source: IL Tempo

Emma Fitzgerald is an accomplished political journalist and author at The Nation View. With a background in political science and international relations, she has a deep understanding of the political landscape and the forces that shape it.