In 2023, the Italian Government adopted several decrees-law with the aims of stemming migration flows, restricting the grounds for legal stay in Italy, and increasing expulsions from the territory. Italy also further pursued an externalization of migration management, by concluding a much-discussed bilateral agreement with Albania^[1] and by playing a prominent role in the conclusion of “strategic partnerships” between the European Union (EU) and Mediterranean countries, namely Tunisia (in July 2023) and Egypt (in March 2024).^[2] Additionally, the Italian Government was active in shaping the EU New Pact on Migration and Asylum, whose adoption it hailed as a success, especially insofar as the “defence” of the external borders of the EU is concerned.^[3]