Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has said that she does not believe that the reform of the EU asylum system is a sustainable solution to reducing irregular migration to Europe, according to the German news agency dpa.
EU member states and the European Parliament agreed on a reform of the EU’s common asylum system before the start of the year after a long battle.
The reform will see the redistribution of migrants among EU member states. If there are countries that do not want to accept refugees, they will be required to provide support, for example in the form of cash payments. Common procedures at borders and accommodation for migrants have also been agreed.
Speaking at a press conference in Rome on Thursday, Giorgia Meloni, the leader of the right-wing populist League party, said: “I believe that the new rules are better than the previous ones, but they are not a solution, because we will not solve the problem if we wait until the migrants arrive in Europe and then think about how to deal with them.”
Italy is located across the Mediterranean Sea from Tunisia and Libya, which are two of the main departure points for irregular migrants trying to cross the sea to enter EU countries. As a result, Italy receives far more asylum seekers than most other EU countries.
According to figures from the Italian Interior Ministry, around 157,650 people arrived illegally in Italy by sea last year, an increase of around 50,000 on the previous year.
Seeking asylum seekers often repeatedly arrive at Italy’s island of Lampedusa, near North Africa, as well as Sicily or the Italian mainland.
Meloni said: “I find the data on migration to be unsatisfactory, especially in light of the effort I have dedicated to this issue.”
In a press conference that was scheduled to take place at the end of last year but was postponed due to illness, Meloni again stressed her belief that it is essential to prevent migrants from coming to Europe in the first place.
She said she wants to conclude agreements with countries of origin to ensure that those seeking to migrate do not make the journey to Europe.
Italy, as the chair of the G7 this year, wants to focus on migration and Africa.
