Tag Archives: migration

Migration Policy and Management under the “Conte 1” Government

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The fight against “irregular” migration to Italy featured prominently in the election manifesto of the Lega (League – a right-wing political party) and was incorporated in the coalition agreement concluded between the two governing parties after the 4 March 2018 general election, namely the League and the Movimento 5 Stelle (Five Star Movement). Accordingly, on 5 June 2018, the President of the Council of Ministers, Mr Giuseppe Conte, outlined the approach on migration of the newly formed Italian Government during his first speech before the Senate of the Republic (9th Meeting, XVIII Legislature):

It is clear to everyone that the management of migratory flows as implemented to date has failed. Europe allowed – we must emphasize it – selfish positions by Member States, which ended up placing the burden, which should have been shared, on border States, first and foremost on Italy. That is why we will vigorously demand to go beyond the Dublin Regulation, so as to ensure actual compliance with the principle of equitable responsibility-sharing and implement automatic mechanisms for the mandatory relocation of asylum seekers. […]

We want asylum procedures to be well-established and swift, also with a view to more effectively ensuring that the rights [of asylum seekers] are guaranteed and that they do not live in uncertainty. […]

We must also re-organize the reception system and make it efficient with a view to ensuring the transparent use of public funds and preventing any infiltration by organized crime. Should there be no grounds for the stay [of migrants in Italy], we will take action to make repatriation procedures effective and, at the European level, to compel third States willing to conclude cooperation agreements with any EU Member States to ratify bilateral agreements for the management of migratory flows.

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The Scope and Means of Action of the United Nations Security Council as Seen by Italy during its “Shared Membership”

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Italy has a long tradition of taking public stances on issues concerning the United Nations (UN) in general, and the Security Council (SC) in particular. The most important of such issues is perhaps the reform of the SC, a hotly debated question on which Italy has been taking a leading position for many years, promoting a series of proposals around which a group known as “Uniting for Consensus” has gathered.[1] This very same theme has been discussed by Italian representatives at the UN also in 2017 and 2018, when they reiterated and further clarified their country’s view.[2] Those years also correspond to the biennium that saw Italy and the Netherlands share a split non-permanent seat at the SC (the former being a member in 2017). Therefore, Italy has recently had many occasions to express its ideas on the action of the SC.

It is well known that the role of the SC has been progressively expanding since the end of the Cold War, so that nowadays its activities have a far wider scope than that envisioned in 1945 by the drafters of the UN Charter. Such legal developments can be said to be, by now, largely accepted by the international community, and even those States that occasionally veto or anyhow oppose certain SC resolutions, sometimes do that inconsistently and by putting forth political rather than legal justifications.[3] This notwithstanding, the issue of how far-reaching the powers of the SC are remains the subject of scholarly debate and is still of some practical importance for States. From this perspective, it may be useful to review Italy’s stances on the action of the SC.

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The Under-Secretary to the Presidency of the Council of Ministers on migratory flows and human trafficking

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CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES, XVII LEGISLATURE, 485th MEETING, 18 SEPTEMBER 2015.

On 18 September 2015, during a meeting of the Chamber of Deputies, the Under-Secretary of State to the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Mr Gianclaudio Bressa, answered a parliamentary question on the opening of humanitarian channels for migratory flows as well as possible measures to curb human trafficking. Mr Bressa stressed the need to achieve a European right to asylum and described the measures adopted by the Italian government. He stated:

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The Minister of Foreign Affairs on the initiatives aimed at suspending the Dublin III Regulation

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CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES, XVII LEGISLATURE, 478th MEETING, 9 SEPTEMBER 2015.

On 9 September 2015, during a question time at the Italian Chamber of Deputies, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Mr Paolo Gentiloni Silveri, expressed the position of the Government on the initiatives aimed at suspending the Dublin III Regulation. The interrogating Member of Parliament had asked if and when the Italian Government will formally propose the suspension or the overcoming of the Dublin Regulation in order to establish a European Right of Asylum. The Minister stated:

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The Minister of Defence’s Statement on Migratory Flows and Asylum Seekers

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CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES, XVII LEGISLATURE, 213th MEETING, 16 APRIL 2014.

On 16 April 2014, the Minister of Defence, Mr. Angelino Alfano, made a statement before the Chamber of Deputies in which he addressed the issue of migratory flows and asylum applications. The Minister urged the EU to give a joint response to the phenomenon of migration, in particular by reforming Council Regulation (EC) No. 343/2003 of 18 February 2003, also known as Dublin II Regulation, and allowing asylum seekers to move within the whole Europe. Mr. Alfano had previously intervened before the Chamber on the same issues.

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