The leaders of several Mediterranean countries are meeting in Rome on Sunday for an “international conference” intended to curb the arrival of migrants in Europe by extending the model agreement signed by the European Union with Tunisia aimed at combating irregular immigration.
Italy’s far-right prime minister opened the conference by setting priorities for what she calls the Rome process in the early afternoon, in the presence of leaders from the region, the European Union (EU) and international financial institutions.
This process is explained by Ms. Meloni as being the fight against illegal immigration, the management of legal immigration flows, support for refugees, and above all, the most important thing, otherwise all that we will do will be insufficient, a broad cooperation to support the development of Africa, and particularly of the countries of origin of the migrants.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni wants Mediterranean states to do more to curb the flow of migrants heading to Italy.
Among the heads of state present were the presidents of Tunisia, Kaïs Saïed, of the United Arab Emirates, Mohammed ben Zayed and that of Mauritania, Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani.
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, was also present along with the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, as well as the President of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Filippo Grandi.
Heads of government from Malta, Egypt, Libya, Ethiopia, Jordan, Algeria, Niger and Lebanon were also present. Greece, Turkey, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia have sent ministers. France and Spain have no representatives.
In the Vatican, Pope Francis celebrating the Angelus called on European and African governments to bring relief and assistance to migrants crossing the Mediterranean, but also to those who, as in Tunisia and Libya, are trapped and abandoned in desert areas .
The Mediterranean must never again be the scene of death and inhumanity , launched the Argentine pontiff.
The role of Tunisia
During the 2022 legislative campaign that brought her to power, Giorgia Meloni had promised to stop the landings of migrants in Italy. His government has since put sticks in the propellers of humanitarian ships, without however drying up departures.
According to Rome, some 80,000 people have crossed the Mediterranean and arrived on the coasts of the peninsula since the start of 2023, compared to 33,000 last year over the same period. The majority would have had the Tunisian coast as their starting point.
Faced with this observation, Ms. Meloni and the European Commission have intensified their dialogue with the North African country for several months, promising funding if the country undertakes to combat emigration from its territory.
Last week theEUand Rome have signed a memorandum of understanding with the Tunisian president which notably provides for European aid of 105 million euros (or just over 154 million Canadian dollars) intended to prevent the departure of migrant boats and fight against smugglers.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Tunisian President Kais Saied and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni shake hands after reaching an agreement on migration to the European continent.
The agreement also provides for more returns of Tunisians in an irregular situation in theEU, as well as returns from Tunisia to their countries of origin of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa.
This partnership with Tunisia must be a model for building new relations with our neighbors in North Africa , argued Ms. Meloni in Tunis with Ursula von der Leyen.
A senior European official speaking on condition of anonymity confirmed that theEUwanted to negotiate similar partnerships with Egypt and Morocco.
We must cooperate with the countries of North Africa, even if we have to accept that they are not perfect democracies , adds an ambassador stationed in Rome who requested anonymity. There is a unit in theEUon this principle , he explains to theAFP.
The management of migrants criticized
SeveralNGOare, for their part, very critical of the management of migrants by the European Union, in particular Sea-Watch which deplores that theEU and its member states continue to toughen their deadly isolation policies. The Mediterranean is not only a cemetery, it is a crime scene, adds the organization.
Europe has learned nothing from its complicity in the atrocious abuses committed against migrants in Libya, criticizes Human Rights Watch.
Migrants from countries in sub-Saharan Africa claim to have been abandoned in the desert by Tunisian authorities without water or shelter.
For the independent researcher Yves Pascouau, however, the fact that there is a channel for discussion between Europe and the countries of departure is a positive thing.
For him, it is nevertheless worrying to note that migration is now also considered by the countries of the South as a problem. And as long as migration policies depend on European interior ministers, the issue will only be addressed from a security point of view.
What is missing in the relationship between the EU and third countries, it is a long-term reflection, he regrets.
According to to’UN, more than 100,000 migrants arrived in Europe in the first six months of 2023 by sea, from the coasts of North Africa, Turkey and Lebanon. They were just over 189,000 in 2022.
