Italy brought the issue of migrants to the center of the European Political Community summit in Granada. At the forum, which brings together 45 states from the old continent, Prime Minister Meloni is satisfied with the agreement reached on Wednesday on the Migration and Asylum Pact and with the direction that the debate has taken within the EU, which is heading towards a meaning a more pragmatic path, and which shows that Italy “is far from being isolated in this negotiation”. The focus now shifts to the external dimension, so “we need to run a little more”. And where Italy wants to be a “pioneer” in the “different relationships we need with the African continent”. The approach, it is emphasized, “should not be paternalistic or predatory”, but “from equal to equal”. The path is that of the Mattei Plan, for the development of the countries that dominate the other side of the Mediterranean, and which will now materialize in a regulation that is being prepared on the governance of this plan. The intention of Palazzo Chigi is to then bring it up for discussion with European countries, with Brussels institutions and at the Italy-Africa conference in November. Italy was the protagonist of a table promoted together with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on the fight against traffickers and the fight against irregular immigration, to which Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Prime Minister Mark Rutte were also invited. Albanian Edi Rama, representing two EU countries and two third countries, two from Northern Europe subject to secondary movements, two from Southern Europe subject mainly to primary movements. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and French President Emmanuel Macron also joined the table. The idea is to have an open format, which will continue after the Granada event, especially because, noted Meloni, «the current Italian proposal is not to continue talking about how we redistribute people who enter Europe illegally, but to prevent illegal migration, The only one who can make everyone agree.” The challenge now is to try to take concrete actions, move from diagnosis to treatment, this is the message that emerges from the meeting, because it is absolutely essential to carry out a series of activities that range from information exchange to collaboration police, even agreements with countries of origin and transit, which are true strategic partnerships on different fronts. In this sense, the Prime Minister’s renewed agreement with her English counterpart – but also with her Albanian counterpart – has broadened the front of Europe of 27 and drew attention to the initiatives that London is adopting, but also to the interest in establishing partnerships with African countries.
It is no coincidence that the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, in his speech at the summit cited Sunak’s proposal to work more closely on the issue of migrants: «Migration is a challenge that we must all face together and that means building more cooperation between us in the EU and more collaboration with third countries.” Regarding the implementation of the memorandum with Tunisia, after Saied’s distancing from the aid offered by the EU, Meloni tries to soften: «I believe that the president of Tunisia spoke, with a somewhat assertive tone , to its public opinion.” In any case, “probably even some statements have not helped in recent weeks in terms of some ideological approaches, but I trust that we will move forward and that we will be able to work on a true strategic partnership also with the help of the Commission”, observes the Prime Minister. Minister. Tomorrow morning Meloni will have a bilateral meeting with Scholz, with whom he has already held discussions in recent days; the controversy over NGOs could be resolved after the agreement reached on the Pact on Migration and Asylum. «It will certainly be an opportunity to think – underlines Meloni – on how to take steps forward especially with regard to Italy, which is the topic of the external dimension, which are the agreements with North Africa, the war on drug traffickers».
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.