Prime Minister Georgia Meloni’s festive mood at Matteo Salvini’s birthday party this weekend sparked criticism among those wondering why she is not paying her respects to those who lost their lives in the migrant shipwreck in Cutro.
Record numbers of migrants have been making their way to Italy recently, with this month recording twice as many crossings as last year and three times as many as in February, Frontex reports. The Home Affairs Ministry data record 17,500 arrivals in 2023.
While about 1,300 migrants were rescued Saturday as three boats overcrowded with migrants were brought safely to Italian ports, the tragedy off the coast of Calabria, which according to the latest reports, has now left 76 dead, has sparked sharp criticism of the government’s response to saving migrants at sea.
Over the weekend, Salvini celebrated his 50th birthday with allies Meloni and Silvio Berlusconi (FI/EPP). At the party, karaoke sparked controversy over whether it was appropriate to sing and have fun rather than mourn the death of the Cutro tragedy.
Journalist Nicola Porro, among the guests, posted on social media a video of Salvini and Meloni singing Fabrizio De Andrè’s “La canzone di Marinella” next to a piano.
“The two Christians Meloni and Salvini do not go to Cutro to pray in front of the coffins, but to Cutro without wanting to see them. And then in the evening some karaoke at Salvini’s birthday party, singing the song of Marinella, inspired by the story of a Calabrian emigrant found dead in a river,” journalist Selvaggia Lucarelli commented on social media.
The tragedy in Cutro has led to significant controversy after a Frontex source told EURACTIV that they had adequately informed the Italian authorities about the severity of the situation after first intercepting the vessel.
This information included poor sea conditions and thermal data indicating many people were inside the vessel.
The Italian government, however, claims the Frontex report “did not represent a dangerous situation. Secondly, there had been no distress calls of any kind” even though under the law, Frontex does not have the jurisdiction to issue distress calls and that starting a Search and Rescue operation remains the decision of national authorities.
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Meanwhile, European Council President Charles Michel sent a letter to Meloni in which he pushed for a “rapid implementation of the agreed measures”.
“I am counting firmly on Italy. By working together and acting decisively, we must prevent such terrible tragedies as the one in Calabria from happening again”, Michel wrote.
Meloni responded quickly, expressing in an official note the “heartfelt appreciation for the words addressed to Italy” by Michel. “What President Michel said is in full agreement with the Italian government’s action in Europe aimed at better managing migration and combating migrant smuggling,” Meloni wrote.
Meloni was recently in Tunisia, where most barges leave for Italy, to collaborate on migration. However, no results are in sight as Tunisia struggles to contain the hundreds of departures amid domestic turmoil and despite recent high-level visits from the Italian government.
“Either Europe realises that we have reached the zero point, or we will be forced to mourn even more deaths because the countries of departure are not told what happens to their compatriots”, said Sea Policies Minister Nello Musumeci.
More flows are also coming from the eastern route as several barges arriving in Italy are from Turkey.
After the Council of Ministers, which exceptionally took place in Cutro on Thursday, the decree-law on migratory flows was approved.
The new decree, which partly incorporates the Security decrees sought by Vice-Premier Matteo Salvini (League/ID), provides a three-year quota for legal migrants and introduces new measures to combat smugglers. It also strengthens repatriation centres and deletes special protection for asylum seekers’ family ties.
(Federica Pascale | EURACTIV.it)
Source: euractiv.com
