Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is not satisfied with her government's results in the fight against illegal immigration and refugees, especially in light of the efforts made, she said at a press conference in Rome.
“But I think things would have been much worse if I hadn't done that,” Meloni continued. Despite the lower number of arrivals, she knows that “more was expected in this regard, and I am willing to take responsibility for that.”
Italy faces a “historic challenge” in dealing with refugees. “I am trying to solve the problem structurally and this requires international support.”
Italy holds the presidency of the G7 this year
EU asylum reform is not a sustainable solution to reduce migration to Europe, even if the new rules are better than the previous ones. Meloni explained again that, in her view, people should be banned from coming to Europe as soon as possible.
The Prime Minister believes that one possibility for this is agreements concluded with countries of origin in order to ensure that people do not even travel to Europe. As the country holding the presidency of the Group of Seven major industrialized countries this year, Italy wants to position migration and Africa as two main topics.
In 2023, 157,652 people reached Italian shores, 50 percent more than the 105,131 people in 2022, according to data from the Italian Interior Ministry. Also in 2023, 17,319 unaccompanied minors arrived, 23.3 percent more than in 2022. In the first two days of 2024, 47 people arrived.
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