Giorgia Meloni convenes Mediterranean conference on migration in Rome

Europe 1 with AFP 15:05 pm, July 23, 2023

Giorgia Meloni welcomed the leaders of Mediterranean countries to Rome on Sunday for an "international conference" aimed at extending the model agreement signed by the EU with Tunisia in a bid to curb the arrival of migrants on the Old Continent. Italy's far-right prime minister opened the conference shortly after 13:00 in the presence of leaders from the region, the European Union and international financial institutions.

Among them are the Presidents of Tunisia Kais Saied, the United Arab Emirates Mohammed ben Zayed, 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, as well as the High Commissioner of UNHCR, Filippo Grandi. Also represented by their heads of government are Malta, Egypt, Libya, Ethiopia, Jordan, Algeria, Niger, Lebanon, while others, such as Greece, Turkey, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, have sent ministers. France and Spain have no representatives.

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Shortly before, at the Vatican, Pope Francis, celebrating the Angelus, called on European and African heads of state and government to bring "relief and assistance" to migrants crossing the Mediterranean but also to those who, as in Tunisia and Libya, "are trapped and abandoned in desert areas". "The Mediterranean must never again be the scene of death and inhumanity," the Argentine pontiff said.

Conference sessions scheduled for the afternoon are closed to media. A press conference by Giorgia Meloni is announced after 19:00 (17:00 GMT).

'Not perfect democracies'

During the 2022 legislative campaign that brought her to power, Giorgia Meloni promised to "stop the disembarkation" of migrants in Italy. His government has since put obstacles in the propellers of humanitarian ships, without drying up departures.

According to Rome, some 80,000 people have crossed the Mediterranean and arrived on the coast of the peninsula since the beginning of the year, compared to 33,000 last year over the same period, mostly from the Tunisian coast.

Faced with this situation, Giorgia Meloni and the European Commission have intensified their "dialogue" with Tunisia in recent months by promising funding if the country undertakes to combat emigration from its territory. Brussels and Rome signed last week with the Tunisian president a memorandum of understanding that includes a 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. "This partnership with Tunisia must be a model to build new relations with our North African neighbours," Meloni told von der Leyen in Tunis.

A senior EU official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the EU was interested in negotiating similar partnerships with Egypt and Morocco. "We must cooperate with the countries of North Africa even if to do so we have to accept that they are not perfect democracies," said an ambassador based in Rome who requested anonymity. "There is unity in the EU on this principle," he told AFP.

"Crime scene"

NGOs, on the other hand, are up in the air. Sea-Watch laments that "the EU and its member states continue to harden their deadly policies of isolation." "The Mediterranean is not just a cemetery, it is a crime scene," the organization said. "Europe has learned nothing from its complicity in horrific abuses against migrants in Libya," Human Rights Watch said.

For independent researcher Yves Pascouau, the fact that there is a "channel of discussion" between Europe and the countries of departure is a positive thing. It is nevertheless worrying to note that now "migration is also considered by the countries of the South as a problem". And as long as migration policies depend on European interior ministers, the issue will only be addressed from a security point of view.

"What is missing in the relationship between the EU and third countries is a long-term reflection," he said. According to the UN, more than 100,000 migrants arrived in Europe in the first six months of 2023 by sea from the North African coast, Turkey and Lebanon. They were just over 189,000 in 2022.