Italy's Meloni says EU must do more to halt migrant flows
ROME (Reuters) - The European Union must do more to protect its borders and to halt the departure of migrant boats from north Africa, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Tuesday.
Confidence vote for Italy's new government at the upper house of parliament© Thomson Reuters
Meloni was speaking to the Italian parliament ahead of an EU summit this week. Italy, which has vowed a tough line on immigration, took in more than 500 migrants on Sunday when two charity rescue ships were allowed to dock.
Later in the debate Meloni said the EU relocation policy for migrants was not working for Italy which was being left to shoulder too great a burden.
"I don't think it's a solution to say that Italy should be the only port of disembarkation in the EU and then for every 100,000 people who come in, other countries take 30."
"I do not think Italy should do alone what others are not willing to do."
But other EU states are also under pressure from migration via other routes.
In September alone, France received around 15,000 asylum applications, Germany almost 21,000, Austria around 15,700 and Spain more than 11,000 compared to 8,500 for Italy, data from EU statistics agency Eurostat shows.
Tensions flared with neighbour France last month after the French took in a rescue boat carrying around 230 migrants that had been turned away by Italy.
More than 98,000 migrants have arrived in Italy by sea in the year to date, up from around 63,000 in the same period of 2021, interior ministry data shows.
(Writing by Keith Weir, Francesca Piscioneri editing by Gavin Jones, Alvise Armellini)
'Enough is enough': Rishi Sunak gets tough on migration as he unveils new laws
Rishi Sunak insisted "enough is enough" as he laid out tough new plans to stop migrants illegally entering the country.
By SAM LISTER
Tue, Dec 13, 2022
Rishi Sunak announces plans to tackle illegal migration
The Prime Minister vowed to turn away Albanians more swiftly, clear the backlog of asylum claims by the end of next year and make the Rwanda deportation plan work. He also promised to end the use of hotels to house asylum seekers at a cost to taxpayers of £5.5 million a day by switching to disused holiday parks, former student halls and unoccupied military sites.
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Rishi Sunak insisted "enough is enough" as he laid out tough new plans to stop migrants illegally entering the country.
By SAM LISTER
Tue, Dec 13, 2022
Rishi Sunak announces plans to tackle illegal migration
The Prime Minister vowed to turn away Albanians more swiftly, clear the backlog of asylum claims by the end of next year and make the Rwanda deportation plan work. He also promised to end the use of hotels to house asylum seekers at a cost to taxpayers of £5.5 million a day by switching to disused holiday parks, former student halls and unoccupied military sites.
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Sunak braced for third Tory revolt in just 48 hours over migration
Mr Sunak insisted the crackdown is about “fairness” and admitted the public is right to be angry about exploitation of the system.
He said: “It is unfair that people come here illegally. It is unfair on those with a genuine case for asylum when our capacity to help is taken up by people coming through, and from, countries that are perfectly safe.
It is unfair on those who come here legally when others come here by cheating the system.
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“And above all, it is unfair on the British people who play by the rules when others come here illegally and benefit from breaking those rules.
“So people are right to be angry because they see what I see, which is that this simply isn’t fair.
“It is not cruel or unkind to want to break the stranglehold of the criminal gangs who trade in human misery and who exploit our system and laws…
“Enough is enough.”
Tory MPs want to see results of Sunak's tough talk on migrant crisis
A new small boats operational command unit made up of the military, civilian staff and the National Crime Agency to stop the crossing.
A new small boats operational command unit made up of the military, civilian staff and the National Crime Agency to stop the crossing.
Mr Sunak insisted the crackdown is about “fairness” and admitted the public is right to be angry about exploitation of the system.
He said: “It is unfair that people come here illegally. It is unfair on those with a genuine case for asylum when our capacity to help is taken up by people coming through, and from, countries that are perfectly safe.
It is unfair on those who come here legally when others come here by cheating the system.
Sponsored
“And above all, it is unfair on the British people who play by the rules when others come here illegally and benefit from breaking those rules.
“So people are right to be angry because they see what I see, which is that this simply isn’t fair.
“It is not cruel or unkind to want to break the stranglehold of the criminal gangs who trade in human misery and who exploit our system and laws…
“Enough is enough.”
Rishi Sunak vowed to make the Rwanda deportation plan work (Image: PA)
A judicial review on the government’s plans to deport illegal migrants to Rwanda is expected before Christmas but no date has been confirmed.
The number of Albanians, mainly young men, heading to the UK illegally has surged over the last two years and now the nationality now accounts for 35 per cent of arrivals compared with three per cent in the whole of 2021.
Under the reforms, Border Force officers will be stationed in Tirana airport in the Albanian capital “helping to disrupt organised crime and stop people coming here illegally”.
Most Albanians have claimed they were victims of modern slavery but they will now have to have evidence to back up their claims.
Other European nations return almost all Albanians arriving illegally because their home nation is a “safe country”.
Mr Sunak told MPs 400 new specialists will work in a dedicated unit expediting asylum claims from people from the Balkan state, with plans for weekly removal flights to take people back to their home country.
The Prime Minister and Home Secretary Suella Braverman have been meeting up to three times a week for more than a month to find solutions to the growing problem.
Mr Sunak has made the small boats crisis his main priority alongside restoring the country’s economic fortunes.
New laws will make it “unambiguously clear” that “if you enter the UK illegally you should not be able to remain here”.
“One of the reasons we have struggled to remove people is because they unfairly exploit our modern slavery system, so we will significantly raise the threshold someone has to meet to be considered a modern slave,” Mr Sunak said.
A judicial review on the government’s plans to deport illegal migrants to Rwanda is expected before Christmas but no date has been confirmed.
The number of Albanians, mainly young men, heading to the UK illegally has surged over the last two years and now the nationality now accounts for 35 per cent of arrivals compared with three per cent in the whole of 2021.
Under the reforms, Border Force officers will be stationed in Tirana airport in the Albanian capital “helping to disrupt organised crime and stop people coming here illegally”.
Most Albanians have claimed they were victims of modern slavery but they will now have to have evidence to back up their claims.
Other European nations return almost all Albanians arriving illegally because their home nation is a “safe country”.
Mr Sunak told MPs 400 new specialists will work in a dedicated unit expediting asylum claims from people from the Balkan state, with plans for weekly removal flights to take people back to their home country.
The Prime Minister and Home Secretary Suella Braverman have been meeting up to three times a week for more than a month to find solutions to the growing problem.
Mr Sunak has made the small boats crisis his main priority alongside restoring the country’s economic fortunes.
New laws will make it “unambiguously clear” that “if you enter the UK illegally you should not be able to remain here”.
“One of the reasons we have struggled to remove people is because they unfairly exploit our modern slavery system, so we will significantly raise the threshold someone has to meet to be considered a modern slave,” Mr Sunak said.
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