Italy Gets French Support on Immigration Reform After Salvini Exit

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte addressing the European Parliament in February 2019. (Flickr)

French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte endorsed a new system of receiving migrants to the EU and called for a revamp of the Dublin Accords in a joint-press conference on September 18. According to Reuters, Conte stated that he and Macron agreed on a plan to automatically resettle migrants arriving by sea across the European Union and to financially punish states who do not support this measure.

The reform plan came a few weeks after the Italian Senate approved a new ruling coalition between Italy’s anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) and the center-left Democratic Party (PD), leaving the right-wing Lega Nord, M5S’s former coalition partner, out of power, Politico reported. The deal assured Conte would stay Prime Minister, but triggered the exit of former Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, Lega Nord’s leader.

Salvini’s immigration policies were controversial in Italy, especially those involving the handling of migrants coming in through the ports, according to Politico. He also issued security decrees criminalizing NGO operations working with migrants and refugees.

Salvini also fell out with Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli after an argument on control over Italian ports. Salvini responded to his own forced departure from the Italian government by tweeting that the new government would “reopen ports and borders.”

Even before Salvini’s tenure, Italy’s government had been at odds with other EU members over the handling of migrants arriving by sea, claiming that Italy shouldered the majority of the migrant burden. This criticism was directed especially at France, with Italy under the previous government claiming that the French government was not helping Italy sufficiently in the management of the immigration burden, Reuters reported.

Macron said that he was pleased that a pro-European government was attempting to resolve the differences in immigration policy. During the press conference with Conte, Macron said, “I do not underestimate what Italy has been experiencing since 2015. It has also suffered many misunderstandings and injustice,” according to EURACTIV.com. After the meeting, he added, “the European Union hasn’t shown enough solidarity with countries handling first arrivals, notably Italy.”

Since Salvini’s departure, Italy has been aiming to reform its own immigration policies regarding migrants arriving at its ports. His replacement as interior minister, Luciana Lamorgese, reportedly wants to ease the restrictions introduced by Salvini, DW reported.

The Italian government demonstrated this intention by allowing a ship carrying 82 migrants, operated by the charities SOS Mediterranee and Doctors Without Borders, to dock on Lampedusa, an Italian island south of Sicily where many migrants have arrived over the past decade, Politico said.

Foreign Minister Luigi De Maio maintained the move was not a sign of resorting to open borders, but rather it signaled a shift away from Salvini’s immigration restrictions. Many, including Italy’s Culture Minister Dario Franceschini and U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi, showed their support for the move through tweets.