Come on in. Migrants in Manduria, Puglia region, after transfer from the island of Lampedusa, 1 April.

Italy talks up its immigrant burden

Confronted with thousands of North African migrants arriving on its shores, Italy has gone begging for a show of solidarity from its EU partners. On April 11, however, the Ministers of Interior and Justice of the Twenty-Seven reminded Rome that when it comes to migration, each country enforces its own rules.

Published on 12 April 2011 at 14:49
Come on in. Migrants in Manduria, Puglia region, after transfer from the island of Lampedusa, 1 April.

If the government of Silvio Berlusconi is to be believed, Italy is facing a tsunami of illegal migrants – Tunisians, mostly. Begging and pleading for more sharing of the “burden” between European Union member states, Italy has been threatening to let these illegal migrants move on freely into its partners’ states by providing them with “temporary residence permits” valid for three months. These permits, Italy insists, would force other states to take them in.

Her EU partners – Germany, Austria and France in particular – failed to appreciate this attempt at blackmail, and at a meeting of the Council of Ministers of Justice and the Interior on April 11 in Luxembourg they said so clearly to the Italian representative, Roberto Maroni – a prominent member of the Northern League, a regionalist, anti-immigration party.

“We cannot accept that many economic migrants are coming to Europe via Italy. This is why we expect Italy to comply with the existing legislation and to fulfil its obligations”, declared the German Interior Minister, Hans-Peter Friedrich, adding that he was ready to re-impose controls at the internal borders of the EU. Following on from this, France’s Claude Guéant announced that he would tighten up border controls between France and Italy and return illegal Tunisians to the other side of the Alps.

Implying the EU is a sieve

No surrender, then, to Italian blackmail. Maroni let his anger explode and took the war of words a step further: “Italy has been abandoned. [...] In this situation, I really have to wonder if being part of the EU means anything.”

Receive the best of European journalism straight to your inbox every Thursday

“All this is pure electioneering in Italy, and in France too,” is the opinion of Patrick Weil, director of research at CNRS and a specialist in immigration. “Actually, there is no incoming flood, contrary to what the Italian government is saying and what is suggested by the extraordinary images from the island of Lampedusa,” entry point for most of the undocumented Tunisians.

In fact, since the revolution in Tunisia in January only 25,800 people have landed on the Italian coasts, which is remarkably little in light of the economic situation in Tunisia and the war in Libya. This figure is even less remarkable when one takes into account that Italy – which has become a land of immigration – has in recent years regularised over a million undocumented migrants, who came in several waves. The last such operation dates back to 2009. “There is no real ‘burden’ to share”, Patrick Weil says with some irony. “This influx is within the norms and is manageable.”

Rome, however, wants to turn this issue into a European problem by implying that the EU is a sieve. This way, it scores double points by pandering to the xenophobia and Euroscepticism of a certain sector of the Italian electorate. Contrary to what the Berlusconi government says, issuing temporary residence permits does not permit freedom of movement to another EU country, as pointed out by the European Commission, which is furious at this abuse of the rules.

Italy is receiving from Frontex in guarding its borders

Indeed, if a 2003 directive does grant right of residence throughout the EU to non-EU nationals, it is on condition that they have a long-term residency (not a mere three months) and that they have the means to support themselves (employment or savings). Similarly, if foreign nationals gain the right to move freely within the EU, it is also on condition that they have the means to do so. Foreign nationals given only simple temporary residence permits and lacking means will be returned to the country of first asylum – in this case, Italy.

The fact that the fixed controls were abolished between member states in the Schengen area does not mean that states have relinquished all control. Mobile checks are perfectly legal and, in the events of threats to public order or public safety, the borders may be temporarily restored. In short, Claude Guéant knows he is onto a sure thing when he claims he will use “all legal means to enforce the Schengen Convention.”

Italy’s criticism of its partners is all the more unwelcome in view of the assistance it is receiving from Frontex in guarding its borders. In effect, this European agency allows member states to pool resources when problems come up, which is largely what is already happening along the EU’s eastern borders. Moreover, Guéant and Maroni agreed on Friday in Rome “to organise joint patrols of the Tunisian coast to block departures,” and to do so under the authority of Frontex. Finally, the EU has promised financial help for Tunisia to manage the transition and, in return, will require the new authorities to cooperate in the fight against illegal immigration, which they have already begun to do.

Much ado about nothing?

From Italy

Europeans deaf to appeals from Rome

Emerging empty-handed from the meeting of the Council of EU Ministers of the Interior and Justice in Luxembourg, where he had called for solidarity from his European partners in hosting the thousands of immigrants that have landed in Italy in recent weeks, Italy’s Interior Minister Roberto Maroni has said he would prefer to "leave the EU”, reports La Stampa. His colleagues similarly criticised the Italian decision to grant temporary residence permits to migrants to alleviate Italy’s overcrowded detention camps. “Are 22,000 unwanted refugees enough to spoil, in the space of 48 hours, decades of European integration?" asks the Turin daily, suggesting that the Italian proposal "has highlighted the new and profound anxieties of Europe’s governments. One has the impression that the prospect of taking in migrants has created more anxiety than having to bail out Greece and Portugal." Over at Il Sole 24 Ore, however, the belief is that, for once, it is not a question of "national egoism”. “This time, Europeans are not scattered in the field: the French and the Germans have stood together, supported by the United Kingdom. Rather than national self-interests, one should speak of a continental pact – or better, a north European pact from which Italy, too weak politically to press its case, has been excluded." The humiliation of Italy was also due to the absence of Silvio Berlusconi from the scene. The head of government is currently on trial in Milan on charges of prostitution of a minor and abuse of power. "Under normal conditions Italy would have negotiated an honourable compromise at the head of government level. This was not the case, and our representatives have been left on their own."

Tags

Was this article useful? If so we are delighted!

It is freely available because we believe that the right to free and independent information is essential for democracy. But this right is not guaranteed forever, and independence comes at a cost. We need your support in order to continue publishing independent, multilingual news for all Europeans.

Discover our subscription offers and their exclusive benefits and become a member of our community now!

Are you a news organisation, a business, an association or a foundation? Check out our bespoke editorial and translation services.

Support independent European journalism

European democracy needs independent media. Join our community!

On the same topic