Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her UK counterpart Rishi Sunak seem to have found a common line to curb irregular immigration and trafficking by smugglers in the Mediterranean and English Channel, as the two met in London on Thursday.
The number of irregular arrivals on Italian and UK shores has increased exponentially over the past few years.
On the visit, Italy and the UK signed joint initiatives in priority areas of collaboration, including immigration, strengthening dialogue and strategic cooperation between Rome and London “in full coherence and complementarity with Italy’s accession to the EU”.
During the visit, an agreement was signed on joint initiatives in priority areas of collaboration, including immigration, to strengthen dialogue and strategic cooperation between Rome and London “in full coherence and complementarity with Italy’s accession to the EU”.
“This is a new beginning” in relations between Italy, and the UK, Prime Minister Georgia Meloni told Sunak before the bilateral meeting.
“The fight against smugglers and illegal immigration is something the two governments are doing very well. I am following your work, and I absolutely agree with your work”, Meloni added.
Sunak stressed that the values of Italy and the UK “are aligned” and that there is a willingness to strengthen ties between the two NATO allies. This includes addressing common challenges such as combating illegal immigration and supporting Ukraine, which the two leaders strongly support.
“There is much to discuss today (…) I am sure that the Memorandum of Understanding we are signing today will strengthen our cooperation in those areas and many others”, Sunak said while calling Meloni “very attentive and capable of bringing stability to Italy in times of uncertainty”.
The UK has recently struck a pact with France on migrants, though irregular border crossings continue to increase. Italy, which recorded four times as many irregular arrivals in 2023 as in the same period in 2022, is in a similar situation, despite repeated pleas to Brussels for help.
On Wednesday, French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne announced that France would mobilise 150 additional police and gendarmes in the Maritime Alps to deal with increased migratory pressure at the Italian border.
On Friday, Meloni will attend a workshop on agribusiness with Agriculture Minister Francesco Lollobrigida at the Italian Embassy in London.
The UK government and finance and private sector representatives will be present at the event in light of the newly signed agreement that focuses on collaboration regarding immigration, the ecological transition, technology and defence, amongst others.
‘Giorgia Out!’
Meanwhile, a dozen British migrant rights activists gathered outside Downing Street to contest Meloni’s visit, shouting “Giorgia out!” and “refugees in”.
Protesters displayed signs reading “No to fascist Meloni. Refugees welcome” along with other similar slogans.
They were even flanked by British Labour Party activists while the London branch of the Italian National Partisans’ Association (ANPI) carried out a ‘tweetstorm’ on social media against the two leaders.
(Federica Pascale | EURACTIV.it)
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