UK and Italy consider joining forces against irregular migration: Report

The UK is considering partnering with Italy to tackle illegal immigrant flows in the Mediterranean, The Telegraph reported Friday afternoon.

The newspaper reported that Cabinet Secretary and Civil Service Chief Simon Case was sent to Italy in mid-June to meet with senior members of the Italian government to prepare the deal.

The deal, which officials quoted by the newspaper as saying would focus on small boats, follows up on a memorandum of understanding signed in April by the two countries in an effort to address illegal migration under the “Strategic Partnership on Migration”.

Nearly 45,000 people arrived in the UK last year after crossing the English Channel on small boats, a record for Britain that prompted some members of the Conservative Party, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s own political family, to demand more policies. tough on irregular immigration.

Meanwhile, Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has increasingly focused on cracking down on migration flows, a key issue for Italy’s far-right. Around 105,000 people arrived in Italy in 2022, 56 percent more than the previous year, according to the Italian news agency ANSA. reported.

Last month, Meloni successfully negotiated a historic agreement to review the way Europe welcomes migrants, requiring front-line states to institute a stricter asylum procedure at the border for those deemed unlikely to be accepted and giving capitals more leeway maneuvering to return rejected applicants.

However, he was unable to replicate his success at the European Council on Friday, where hourly negotiations failed to produce a joint declaration as Poland and Hungary refused to drop their opposition to the already agreed deal.

The intense political debates to stop migratory flows reach at least 79 people drowned off the Greek coast in mid-June, sparking a short-lived outrage and muted answer of the European Commission.