Giorgia Meloni welcomed leaders from around the Mediterranean to Rome on Sunday to promote a new mode of cooperation between countries of immigration and countries of emigration, on the model of the agreement signed by the EU with Tunisia with the aim of curbing the arrival of migrants on the Old Continent.
Italy’s far-right prime minister opened the conference by setting the priorities for what she calls “the Rome process”.
“Fight against illegal immigration, management of legal immigration flows, support for refugees, and above all, the most important thing, otherwise all that we will do will be insufficient, broad cooperation to support the development of Africa, and particularly of the countries of origin” of the migrants, she detailed.
Among the personalities present, the presidents of Tunisia Kais Saied, of the United Arab Emirates Mohammed ben Zayed, of Mauritania Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, the president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and the president of the European Council Charles Michel, the High Commissioner of the UNHCR, Filippo Grandi, and delegates from the major international financial institutions.
Malta, Egypt, Libya, Ethiopia, Jordan, Algeria, Niger, Lebanon are also represented by their heads of government, while others, such as Greece, Turkey, Kuwait or Saudi Arabia, have sent ministers. France and Spain have no representatives.
At the Vatican, Pope Francis called on European and African leaders to bring “rescue and assistance” to migrants crossing the Mediterranean but also to those who, as in Tunisia and Libya, “are trapped and abandoned in desert areas”.
“Supporting” countries of emigration
During the 2022 legislative campaign that brought her to power, Giorgia Meloni had promised to “stop the landings” of migrants in Italy. His government has since put sticks in the propellers of humanitarian ships, without however drying up departures.
According to Rome, some 80,000 people have crossed the Mediterranean and arrived on the coasts of the peninsula since the beginning of the year, against 33,000 last year over the same period, mostly from the Tunisian coast.
Faced with this observation, Mr.me Meloni and the European Commission have intensified their “dialogue” with Tunisia, promising funding if the country commits to fighting emigration from its territory.
Brussels and Rome signed a memorandum of understanding with the Tunisian president last week which notably provides for European aid of 105 million euros intended to prevent the departure of migrant boats and fight against smugglers.
The agreement also provides for more returns of Tunisians in an irregular situation in the EU, as well as returns from Tunisia to their countries of origin of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa.
“We do not accept the passage [des migrants] which are illegal. The Tunisian people appreciate the human value of immigrants, but they face criminal gangs” among these migrants, the Tunisian president said, quoted by the media.
A senior EU official speaking on condition of anonymity confirmed that the EU is keen to negotiate similar partnerships with Egypt and Morocco.
In Rome, the Mauritanian president warned that special attention should be paid “to countries and regions facing critical economic, political and security situations in order to better support them”.
“Deadly Politics”
The NGOs, on the other hand, are standing up. Sea-Watch deplores that “the EU and its member states continue to toughen their deadly policies of isolation” while Human Rights Watch believes that “Europe has learned nothing from its complicity in the horrific abuses committed against migrants in Libya”.
HRW also pointed this week to “serious abuses” in recent months by Tunisian security forces against black African migrants, saying the EU should “stop supporting” this country in the fight against irregular immigration.
Following clashes that claimed the life of a Tunisian on July 3, hundreds of African migrants were driven out of Sfax, the country’s second largest city and Tunisia’s main point of departure for illegal emigration.
They were taken by the authorities, according to NGOs, to inhospitable areas near Libya to the east and Algeria to the west.
According to the UN, more than 100,000 migrants arrived in Europe in the first six months of 2023 by sea, from the coasts of North Africa, Turkey and Lebanon. They were just over 189,000 in 2022.