US EditionItaly Approves Bill Allowing Naval Blockades Against Migrant Boats
The bill allows naval blockades up to six months, fines of €50,000, and transfers of migrants to third countries amid a drop in sea arrivals to 2,000 this year, government data show.
- On Feb 11, Italy's cabinet approved a bill authorising naval blockades to halt migrant boats during exceptional pressure and sent it to both chambers of parliament for debate.
- Following EU rule changes this week, the European Parliament approved asylum rule changes driven by Italy, while Giorgia Meloni, Prime Minister since late 2022, pushed to speed repatriations and punish smugglers.
- The bill allows authorities to impose fines up to 50,000 euros on charity rescue ships and confiscate boats for repeated breaches, while banning crossings into Italian territorial waters for 30 days, extendable up to six months for public order or national security triggers.
- Political reactions split along government and opposition lines, with Peppe De Cristofaro, senator, Green Left Alliance, warning that `A repressive approach will solve the issue`, while Antonio Tajani, Foreign Minister, hailed the European Parliament's list as proof Rome is right.
- Looking ahead, the bill revives plans for offshore processing hubs similar to Albanian centres, with the Meloni government aiming to restart facilities inactive for two years and allowing ship stoppages during a drastic influx.
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74 Articles
Meloni unveils ‘naval blockade’ plan to shut Italy’s waters to migrant boats
Italian PM Giorgia Meloni has announced a tough new “naval blockade” plan as part of sweeping measures against what she calls “mass illegal immigration” and the human traffickers behind it. In a video address, her first big message since violent unrest and tensions over security and the Paris Olympics put Italy’s stability in the spotlight, Meloni warned that in cases of terrorism risk, national security threats or “exceptional migratory pressur…
The right-wing national government is relying on a further tightening of the migration rules. The new law is also intended to allow asylum procedures abroad. However, these projects could fail.
DECRYPTAGE - As promised during its election campaign in 2022, the bill under consideration by the Council of Ministers plans to impose a blockade around the peninsula to repel the ships that transport migrants as well as those of the NGOs that rescue them.
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