The haste with which EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen accepted Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s invitation to Lampedusa makes the seriousness of the situation clear. Thousands of migrants have arrived on the small Mediterranean island in the past few days.
For years, the island has symbolized the entire dilemma of European migration policy. And in view of recent developments, there is a growing risk that the planned EU asylum law reform will fail completely.
Von der Leyen wants to prevent this – and for this she needs Italy, which is one of the EU states on the external border of the union, where many migrants set foot on European soil for the first time. Meloni, in turn, is under massive domestic political pressure to reduce the number of refugees. In 2022, during the election campaign, she promised in shrill tones to massively restrict migration to Italy – now the Mediterranean country is recording record numbers of arrivals.
Both politicians probably hoped that the visit would send a signal. But even their joint appearance cannot hide the extent to which ideas on migration policy differ.
After a visit to the initial reception center and the pier intended for migrant arrivals, von der Leyen presented a 10-point plan against illegal migration in Lampedusa on Sunday, which should also assure Italy of support. This provides for better training for the Tunisian coast guard, and, according to von der Leyen, the EU’s external border should be monitored more closely at sea and from the air.
“We can do this through Frontex,” she said, referring to the EU border protection agency. The top German politician added that she supported exploring options for expanding existing naval operations in the Mediterranean or working on new operations. “We will decide who comes to the European Union – and under what circumstances. And not the smugglers,” said von der Leyen.
Italy is one of the EU states where a particularly large number of migrants arrive. According to figures from the Interior Ministry in Rome, more than 127,200 people have already reached the country via the Mediterranean this year (as of September 15). In the same period last year there were around 66,200. Because of its proximity to the Tunisian coastal city of Sfax, Lampedusa has been one of the hotspots of migration to Europe for years.
“We will decide who comes to the European Union – and under what circumstances. And not the smugglers.”
(Photo: IMAGO/ZUMA Press)
Von der Leyen and Meloni visited the initial reception center on the island, which was extremely overcrowded with around 6,800 people just a few days ago. They also visited the pier designated for migrant arrivals. Abandoned metal boats floated on the water.
According to EU information, there are currently three Frontex operations in the Mediterranean to secure the EU’s external borders, take action against smugglers and rescue people in need. But there are also repeated reports of illegal pushbacks in Frontex operations. This refers to the rejection of people seeking protection at the external borders, which is illegal under international law.
Since the beginning of the year, more migrants have come to Italy by sea than in the whole of 2022.
(Photo: REUTERS)
For her part, Meloni makes it diplomatically but unmistakably clear that she expects a radical turnaround at the EU level. And she also wants to take a tougher approach against migrants who are already in the country.
The cabinet of your right-wing government coalition is expected to initiate appropriate measures as early as this Monday. Before von der Leyen’s visit, she called for an EU mission in a video to prevent migrants from crossing – if necessary with the use of the navy. On Sunday, the ultra-right politician made it clear again that preventing the crossings was the only conceivable option for her. Continuing to talk about redistributing people won’t solve the problem, she says.
In doing so, she puts her finger in the wound: To date, the EU states have not managed to pass a comprehensive reform of the European asylum system. The EU asylum policy should actually be reformed by the upcoming elections in mid-2024. In June there was also an agreement between the EU interior ministers. Asylum procedures should therefore be significantly tightened. The proposal – especially the solidarity mechanism it envisages – is met with rejection by some states.
It is not just states on the EU’s external borders, such as Italy and Greece, that are affected by migration. Meloni even points this out to emphasize her point. “If we do not take serious and joint action against illegal crossings, the numbers of this phenomenon will first overwhelm the states at the external borders, but then all the others.” The focus is also on states that are the destination of a particularly high number of asylum seekers – here Germany comes first.
Von der Leyen and Meloni looked around the so-called hotspot in the interior of Lampedusa and exchanged ideas with some migrants.
(Photo: Reuters)
Like Meloni in Italy, Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD), who is responsible for German migration policy, is also under pressure. In the first eight months of this year, more than 204,000 people in this country applied for asylum for the first time, around 77 percent more than in the same period last year.
Many come from Syria or Afghanistan, who have a good chance of being allowed to stay – if they have not previously been registered in another EU country. And even for those who would have to leave the country again, deportation often doesn’t work.
This is a problem for Faeser, who is the SPD’s top candidate in the Hessian election campaign. A Forsa survey published in August for the German Civil Service Association asked in which areas the state was overwhelmed. While energy supply was at the top at 17 percent shortly after the start of the Ukraine war, asylum and refugee policy is now at 26 percent.
Faeser is trying to find a balance when it comes to migration. On the one hand, it suspended the admission of new asylum seekers from Italy via the so-called solidarity mechanism – on the grounds that this year Italy had only allowed ten returns of asylum seekers from Germany who had previously been registered in the country. On the other hand, it rejects the call to establish stationary controls not only in Bavaria, but also at other border sections in the future.
Nancy Faeser is responsible for German migration policy.
(Photo: dpa)
At the same time, the minister emphasizes that Germany will continue to show solidarity in European asylum policy and refers to the compromise that was reached among the EU interior ministers in June. However, this asylum compromise is so far just a document with no effect. It remains to be seen whether the necessary negotiations with the EU Parliament can be completed before the elections.
Hopes rest on Tunisia
There are also hopes on the other side of the Mediterranean. For example in Tunisia, where Meloni and von der Leyen were together just two months ago to negotiate a deal. As one of the most important transit countries for migrants on their way to Europe, Tunisia is to take greater action against smugglers and illegal crossings in return for millions in financial aid. And because the number of boats that leave from the Tunisian port city of Sfax, which is only around 190 kilometers from Lampedusa, is not decreasing, Meloni is particularly committed to this.
The opposition in Italy already sees the Tunisia deal as a failure. Meloni’s electorate is also becoming more impatient and demanding results. Demands also come from their government. Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini spoke of the large number of people seeking protection as an “act of war” and sensed something “organized to get a government into difficulties”.
Von der Leyen said on Sunday that the EU should not leave Italy alone – a sentence that has been heard often in recent years. The appeal to other EU states to voluntarily accept migrants from Italy is also not new. “Italy can rely on the European Union,” says the top German politician in Italian and smiles at Meloni.
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