So far, Italian Prime Minister Meloni has not been able to keep her campaign promises on migration. At her annual press conference she again promised more toughness. The AfD was also an issue.
Giorgia Meloni’s gaze briefly swept over the more than 100 journalists in the conference room of the Chamber of Deputies. Then the Italian Prime Minister decided on a mixture of admission and declaration of war.
Regarding the question of whether she was satisfied with the results of her migration policy so far, Meloni said: “If you ask me whether I am satisfied, I say: ‘No’. To immediately follow up: ‘But if you ask me whether I assume so “That I will be satisfied at the end of the legislative period, then I tell you: That’s exactly what I’m working on.”
Italy’s right-wing head of government emphasized that one of her priorities remains “to fight human trafficking and stop illegal migration.”
Twice as many migrants reach Italy
Meloni is under pressure in her own country when it comes to migration, which became clear at her traditional annual press conference. In the only detailed meeting with journalists this year, the head of government was asked about the issue several times. Contrary to Meloni’s promises during the election campaign, the number of migrants arriving in Italy has more than doubled compared to the previous Draghi government.
Meloni announced that she wanted to push for a further tightening of the currently tightened asylum policy in Europe. She supported the European migration and asylum pact two weeks ago “because the rules are better than before.”
“But,” Meloni emphasized with emphasis in his voice, “it is not the solution! We will never solve this problem if we only focus on discussing how we distribute the migrants once they arrive in Europe.”
EU compromise does not go far enough for Meloni
In December, the European Union agreed to carry out asylum procedures at the external borders in the future, to deport them more quickly and to distribute arriving migrants in the European Union more fairly.
Meloni has now made it clear that this is not enough for her and that she wants to add a little more to the newly negotiated compromise. The goal must be to decide on African soil who is allowed to come to the European Union: “My goal is to work in Africa and stop the departures in Africa.” This includes “considering the possibility of setting up hotspots in Africa in order to decide who has the right and who does not have the right to come to Europe.”
Italy’s agreement with Albania is on hold
With this proposal about EU hotspots in Africa, Meloni returns to a demand from her election campaign. The states of the European Union have so far only operated such hotspots on EU territory.
In November, Meloni concluded a bilateral agreement with Tirana on migration, which envisages setting up reception centers for migrants in the non-EU country Albania. This agreement is currently on hold due to concerns raised by an Albanian court.
Clear rejection of AfD
When asked about her possible alliance partners at the European level, Meloni rejected the German AfD. There are “irreconcilable differences” with the AfD. The head of the right-wing far-right party “Brothers of Italy” justified her distance from the AfD, among other things, with its relations with Russia. Under Meloni, Italy’s government supports the EU line of helping Ukraine militarily and financially against Russia’s attack.
Turning to the conflict in the Middle East, Meloni condemned Hamas’s “horrible October 7 attack” on Israeli civilians. She also criticized that there is currently anti-Semitism that is “disguised as criticism of Israel.”
Meloni throws shooting MPs out of party
In terms of domestic policy, Meloni commented on the dispute over the planned justice law, which, among other things, is intended to restrict the right of journalists to report on arrest warrants. In the future, arrest warrants will no longer be allowed to be quoted in Italy.
“Frankly, I don’t see any gag order here,” Meloni said. She considers the planned reform to be a “balanced regulation between the right to information and the right of the citizen, before a judgment is made, not to find himself in newspapers with details that could violate his dignity.”
On an issue that has preoccupied Italy’s media for days, Meloni gave in to public pressure today. She announced that MP Emanuele Pozzolo would be expelled from the Brothers of Italy party. According to media reports, Meloni henchman Pozzolo fired a pistol at a New Year’s party and hit a guest at the party in the leg.
Jörg Seisselberg, ARD Rome, tagesschau, January 4th, 2024 5:57 p.m