Giorgia Meloni, Italy’s hard-right prime minister, has endorsed Rishi Sunak’s tough stance on immigration, in spite of misgivings among her officials about backing the UK policy of deporting asylum seekers to Rwanda.
Sunak and Meloni, who held talks in Downing Street on Thursday, hailed “very strong” relations between the two countries on a range of issues, including Ukraine, energy security and tackling illegal migration.
Italian officials resisted any formal endorsement by Rome of Sunak’s policy of detaining and deporting asylum seekers who cross the English Channel in small boats. The EU has been critical of the policy.
A formal memorandum of understanding issued after the meeting only spoke about co-operating on migration at a high level, but Meloni went further in her comments in Downing Street.
“Tackling traffickers and illegal migration is something that your government is doing very well,” Meloni told Sunak. “I’m following your work and I absolutely agree with your work and I think there are many things that we can do together.”
People briefed on the visit said the two sides had a “tug of war” about the wording of the memorandum, to find the right language on immigration, with Number 10 pushing for a tough line.
One said: “The [Italian] ministry of foreign affairs was advising against. Memorandums of understanding like this can cause confusion and complicate relations with the EU. The Italians were not very keen.”
UK officials did not deny there had been some “to-ing and fro-ing” but pointed to Meloni’s comments as confirming that she and Sunak took a similarly tough stance on illegal migration.
Meloni came to power last year promising tough action — and even naval blockades — to try to stop migrants from crossing the Mediterranean Sea, but Sunak’s policy is seen by some in Rome as a step too far.
The UK prime minister is seeking parliamentary approval for legislation that will bar almost anyone from claiming asylum who enters Britain on small boats or without prior permission.
It also imposes a legal duty on UK ministers to detain and remove such people to their country of origin or a safe third country — notably Rwanda.
The UK struck a deal with Rwanda in 2022 to deport asylum seekers to the African nation, as Britain sought to deter increasing numbers of migrants crossing the Channel in small vessels. More than 45,000 arrived last year, compared to an estimated 29,000 in 2021.
Meloni, whose Brothers of Italy party has its roots in the neo-fascist Italian Social Movement formed after the second world war, has sought to moderate her tone since becoming prime minister last year, pursuing a strong pro-EU and pro-Nato stance.
She has had limited room for manoeuvre on immigration, as Italy’s financial weakness — and its dependence on billions of euros in EU Covid recovery funds — means Rome can ill-afford to adopt policies that Brussels fears could breach international law or are seen to be contrary to the bloc’s values.
Almost 40,000 people have arrived in Italy by boat from across the Mediterranean so far this year, compared to just under 10,000 in the same period in 2022, according to official data.
UK development minister Andrew Mitchell on Thursday argued that Britain was incredibly “unlikely” to leave the European Court of Human Rights to pursue its tough new immigration policy, despite growing calls from some on the right wing of his Conservative party to do so.
Mitchell said Britain was “testing the limits” of what could be done under the ECHR, but added: “I don’t think there’s any question of Britain leaving the ECHR. The prime minister I think has made that pretty clear.”
Credit: Source link
