Italy’s government has acknowledged that it is facing “obstacles” in its dealings with Libya to stop the flow of irregular migration from its shores to Italy’s southern shores, despite logistical support from Rome to boost the capabilities of the Libyan coast guard.
Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said that the “memorandum of understanding” signed with Tunisia on migration is “going well,” pointing out that it has succeeded in “reducing migration operations towards Italy to a minimum,” but he described the management of dialogue with the Libyans in this area as “difficult” as “there are still departure operations” from its shores towards Italian waters.
Di Maio’s remarks came on Tuesday during a hearing before the parliamentary committee responsible for monitoring the implementation of the Schengen Agreement, overseeing the activities of the European police agency Europol, and monitoring and supervising immigration affairs, according to the Italian news agency ANSA.
Di Maio pointed out that “in Sfax there are about 5,000 migrants who want to sail, but the Tunisian police are working to stop them,” acknowledging that there are “obstacles” with Libya to stop the operations of migrants leaving its shores, despite the Italian government’s work to “strengthen the ability of the Libyan authorities to intervene and rescue at sea by also benefiting from the European support program.”
In this regard, Di Maio explained that “during this year we have delivered patrol boats and we have conducted high-level training courses for our Libyan counterparts,” pointing out that “since 2017, 103 million euros have been allocated to Libya in cooperation with the International Organization for Migration and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.” Despite this, he concluded by saying “we will continue to provide assistance to Libya without compromising the basic rights of migrants” according to ANSA.
