“There are many countries that are observing the policies that Italy has carried out in recent years regarding migration,” he boasts. Giorgia Meloni. Taking advantage of the growing interest aroused by its agreement with Albania to open migrant holding centers there, which even Ursula von der Leyen considers that it could serve as a model for the rest of the EU, the Italian Prime Minister has called for this Thursday a parallel mini-summit with the countries “more interested in the migration phenomenon.” A meeting prior to the European Council to which Pedro Sanchez He does not plan to attend because he defends policies diametrically opposed to those of Meloni to combat irregular arrivals, according to diplomatic sources.
In addition to Meloni, the migration counter-summit is organized by the Danish Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksenwho like Sánchez belongs to the socialist family; and by the Dutch Prime Minister, Dick Schoofwhich leads a right-wing and far-right coalition government. The president of the Commission herself, who has the role of guardian of the Treaties, has confirmed her attendance at the meeting. The final list of participants is not yet closed, but the organizers expect at least half a dozen leaders, among whom are those from Poland or Greece. Also on the guest list is the German chancellor, also a socialist Olaf Scholzalthough it is still not clear that he will attend. If confirmed, Sánchez would be the only great who is completely out of the game.
“It seems that there is going to be a great participation. There is a desire to work on pragmatic solutions and see the results of that work. As Italy has shown that it knows how to do, with the collaboration of the European Commission, for which we must thank Ursula von der Leyen the work that he has helped us do over the years and that is obviously paying off. When the results arrive, many others understand us and want to help us“, Meloni celebrated in an appearance during the summit between the EU and the Gulf countries held this Wednesday in Brussels.
The Italian Prime Minister has regretted that the EU has wasted many years with a “very heated debate” on the distribution of migrantswhich in his opinion does not solve the problem but rather moves it from one Member State to another. In contrast, she maintains that what it is about is finding a solution to the migration problem for the EU as a whole, something that in her opinion is being achieved with Italian recipes. In 2024, the percentage of landings of irregular migrants in Italy decreased by 60% compared to 2023 and 30% compared to 2022according to their figures. A fall to which the EU agreements with Tunisia and Egypt have also contributed.
In contrast, Sánchez alleges that the ‘Meloni model’ The creation of migrant centers outside the EU does not reduce the arrival of migrants nor is it a solution for anything. The President of the Government does not plan to attend the mini-summit organized by the Italian Prime Minister in Brussels, although he downplays this absence because he was already with her at the MED9 club summit in Cyprus last week. Sánchez will defend in Brussels a preventive policy based on global agreements with countries of origin and transit, as well as the creation of legal migration routes, according to diplomatic sources.
The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, during the summit between the EU and the Gulf countries this Wednesday in Brussels
However, the President of the Government faces the European Council in an uncomfortable position of isolation. In a matter of months, The immigration debate has radically shifted towards increasingly harsher positions.coinciding with the rise of the extreme right in countries such as France, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and Italy itself. The vast majority of Governments now consider that the Migration and Asylum Pact that was approved by the Spanish presidency at the end of 2023, but will not come into full force until 2026, has already been surpassed by events. And they demand more and tougher measures to stop irregular arrivals.
“New ways to prevent and counter irregular migration should be considered, in line with international and EU law,” reads the European Council’s draft conclusions. The “innovative solutions” is the new euphemism that European leaders resort to to refer to measures such as those being adopted by the Meloni Government.
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