Georgia Mieloni invited Mediterranean countries to Rome on Sunday to attend an "international conference" aimed at extending the model agreement signed between the European Union and Tunisia to reduce migrant arrivals to the continent.
The government of Mieloni stated that the far-right Prime Minister expects leaders from the region, the European Union, and international financial institutions to attend the conference in the capital.
Mieloni confirmed the participation of Tunisian President Kais Saied, while Maltese Prime Minister Robert Abela and Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly also confirmed their attendance.
Other attendees include the Prime Ministers of Algeria, Greece, Jordan, and Lebanon, in addition to European leaders Charles Michel and Ursula von der Leyen.
During the legislative election campaign that brought her to power in 2022, Mieloni promised to "put an end to the landing" of migrants in Italy. However, since then, her government has hindered the activities of humanitarian ships without succeeding in stopping the arrival of refugees.
Federica Infantino, a researcher at the European University Institute's Migration Policy Center in Florence, said the agreement with Tunisia would not change the situation. She added, "We cannot imagine migration as a tap that we turn on and off according to the wishes of some politicians," stressing that even if the stated objectives are not achieved, it remains a "powerful symbolic issue" in Mieloni's domestic policy.
Rome estimates that around eighty thousand people have arrived on the shores of the peninsula since the beginning of the year, compared to thirty-three thousand during the same period last year, with most of them departing from the Tunisian coast.
Consequently, Mieloni and the European Commission, with the support of other EU member states, have intensified their "dialogue" with Tunisia and provided assistance to confront the International Monetary Fund, which demands major reforms and promises financing if the country commits to combating immigration from its territory.
Last week, Brussels and Rome signed a memorandum of understanding with the Tunisian President, including European assistance worth 105 million euros to prevent the departure of migrant boats and combat smugglers.
The agreement also provides for the return of more Tunisians in an irregular situation in the European Union, as well as the repatriation of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa through Tunisia to their countries of origin.
Mieloni said in Tunisia, accompanied by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, "This partnership with Tunisia should be a model for building new relationships with our neighbors in North Africa."
A senior EU official, requesting anonymity, stated that the European Union is keen to negotiate similar partnerships with Egypt and Morocco.
An ambassador in Rome, also requesting anonymity, said, "We must cooperate with North African countries even if we have to accept that they are not ideal democracies." He added to AFP, "There is unity in the European Union on this principle."
However, non-governmental organizations object to this.
The organization Human Rights Watch expressed regret that "the European Union and its member states continue to tighten their deadly isolation policies," and decried that "the Mediterranean is not just a cemetery but a crime scene."
Human Rights Watch also saw that "Europe has not learned anything from its complicity in the horrific abuses committed against migrants in Libya."
Europeans argue that migrants will continue to cross the Mediterranean, so other solutions must be found.
Independent researcher Eve Pasco said that the existence of a "debate channel" between Europe and the countries of departure is positive.
However, she added that what is worrying now is the realization that "the southern countries also consider migration a problem," pointing out that as long as migration policies remain under the authority of European interior ministers, this issue will only be dealt with from a security perspective.
She continued that what the relationship between the European Union and other countries lacks is "long-term thinking."
The United Nations says that more than one hundred thousand migrants arrived in Europe in the first six months of 2023 via the sea from the coasts of North Africa, Turkey, and Lebanon, slightly higher than the total of 189,000 in 2022.
AFP