British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, on his visit to Rome on Monday 16 September, welcomed the “remarkable progress” of Italy in the fight against illegal immigration networks. He defended a “pragmatic approach” of his government on illegal immigration, the subject of violent far-right riots in the United Kingdom in July and August.
“They have made remarkable progress, working as equals with countries along migration routes to address drivers of migration at source and counter networks, with the result that illegal arrivals by sea to Italy have fallen by 60% since 2022.”said Starmer at a press conference with his Italian counterpart, Giorgia Meloni.
Starmer, who rejected the previous British (Conservative) government’s plan to deport migrants to Rwanda, said that ” interested “ by the method of Mme Meloni, who signed a controversial agreement with Tirana in November that provides for the creation of two centres for migrants in Albania.
A few hours before the meeting between Mr Starmer and Mrme Meloni, London announced the creation of an elite command responsible for securing the country’s borders, one of the prime minister’s campaign promises. Elected in July, he immediately faced the largest far-right riots the UK has seen since 2011, which targeted mosques and migrant accommodation centres across the country.
Eight dead in shipwreck in the English Channel
In the English Channel, the crossings continue and tragedies continue: during the night from Saturday to Sunday, eight migrants died when their improvised boat sank off the French coast. Since the beginning of the year, 46 people have died.
Starmer’s visit to Italy has sparked criticism even within his own ranks. Labour MP Kim Johnson, interviewed by the daily The Guardianfor which he regretted that “Go learn lessons from a neo-fascist government”. On the contrary, in Rome, the Minister of the Interior, Matteo Piantedosi, expressed his “great satisfaction at the British Prime Minister’s interest in the Italian model”.
The agreement signed between Rome and Tirana provides for the opening of a first centre in the port of Shengjin, in northern Albania, to register asylum applications, and a second in the same region, where migrants will be housed while their applications are being processed. These two centres – financed and managed by Italy, in the territory of a country that is not part of the European Union but aspires to become one – will be able to accommodate up to three thousand people arriving in Italy by sea.
Migrants whose asylum application is rejected will be returned to their country of origin, while those whose application is accepted will be admitted to Italy. A notable difference from the old London plan, under which applicants sent to Rwanda would not have been able to receive asylum in the United Kingdom.
