Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister
Antonio Tajani and Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi on
Wednesday night hailed the EU's new Migrant Pact that European
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said will mean Italy
and other frontline reception countries will no longer be left
alone to cope with the mass arrivals of asylum seekers.
The Pact, which was approved by the European Parliament and must
now go before the European Council, will come into force in two
years and will aim to speed asylum cases and favour the return
of irregular migrants to their countries of origin.
Under the Pact, border controls are boosted and a common
procedure is introduced at the EU level for the concession of
revocation of international protection.
"The European Parliament's green light for the pact on migrants
and asylum is an important step," said Tajani.
This is the way out of the Dublin (Regulation) season (when
migrants had to be registered in country of arrival, ed.).
"It was the best possible compromise.
"Europe is back in the lead in tackling legal immigration and
returning to an overall vision of the phenomenon.
"Italy played an important role as did our political family, the
(European People's Party, EPP)."
PIantedosi said the Pact takes Italy's needs into account.
"After years of deadlock on migration policy, with today's vote
by the European Parliament on the Migration and Asylum Pact the
Dublin Regulation has finally been overcome," he said.
"Thanks to our negotiating skills, we have succeeded in a year
and a half in putting migration policy back at the centre of the
European agenda and we have found together with the other EU
Member States the best possible compromise, which in any case
takes into account Italy's priority needs.
"The new pact, in fact, will guarantee more secure external
borders, rapid and efficient asylum procedures, faster
expulsions, and greater solidarity with the countries of first
entry".
Von der Leyen, for her part, said in answering a question on
whether the pact will be able to help countries such as Italy,
Spain, Greece and Malta in concrete terms: "With the pact on
migration no country will be left alone, that is why we have
introduced a compulsory solidarity mechanism: the best Europe is
the Europe that moves united".
Premier Giorgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy (FdI) party voted for
some of the articles in the Pact, and against others, while her
coalition partner the League voted against all but one of them
saying the Pact still left Italy on its own in fighting illegal
migration, and the centre-left opposition Democratic Party (PD)
also voted against the Pact saying it worsened hard-line
anti-migrant policies.
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