ITALY: Recent Increase in Arrivals But Overall Decrease from 2023 ― Albanian PM Rejects Any Replicas of Italy-Albania Protocol ― Prosecutors Demand Six-Year Jail Term for Deputy PM in Rescue Vessel ‘Kidnapping’ Case ― New Security Decree Creates Concer…

• More than 1,200 people arrived in Italy irregularly on 21-22 September but the overall number in 2024 is significantly lower than the previous year.
• Albania Prime Minister Edi Rama has reminded EU leaders that the Italy-Albania Protocol is a one-off and that his government would not be signing similar agreements with other countries.
• Prosecutors in Palermo (Sicily) have requested a six-year jail term for Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini for his role in preventing an NGO rescue vessel from docking in Italy in August 2019.
• A new security decree which could have a negative impact for people seeking asylum in Italy has been adopted by the Chamber of Deputies.
• A campaign to change Italy’s citizenship law has gathered the 500,000 signatures it requires to trigger a referendum on the issue.

More than 1,200 irregular arrivals were recorded in Italy during the weekend of 21-22 September. According to InfoMigrants, 964 people arrived on the island of Lampedusa, 240 people arrived in Calabria and 30 others arrived on the island of Sardina. The NGO Open Arms, which rescued 263 of the people who arrived on Lampedusa, described the situation in the Central Mediterranean as “very complex”. Despite the high number of irregular arrivals that have been recorded in recent months, there has been a significant reduction from the previous year (45,000 in January-September 2024 compared to 132,796 in the same period in 2023).

Albania Prime Minister Edi Rama has reminded EU leaders that the Italy-Albania Protocol is a one-off and that his government would not be signing similar agreements with other countries. Days after UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer reportedly expressed “great interest” in the scheme, which would involve the transfer of people intercepted in Italian waters to reception centres in Albania, Rama told members of the European Parliament: “This is an exclusive agreement with Italy because we love everyone, but with Italy we have unconditional love”. In May 2024, 15 EU member states cited the Italy-Albania Protocol as a model for partially outsourcing the EU’s migration and asylum policy in a joint letter that they sent to the European Commission. Despite the international interest in the Albania scheme, the two centres, situated in Gjader and Shengjin, are still not operational more than four months after their original opening date was announced. However, according to ANSA, the facility in Shengjin is “ready: and, despite delays at the Gjader facility, the Italian government “expects the mechanism to be fully operational” by the end of September.

Prosecutors in Palermo (Sicily) have requested a six-year jail term for Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini for his role in preventing an NGO rescue vessel from docking in Italy in August 2019. The request, which was made public on 12 September, is the latest stage in a trial which started in October 2021. Salvini, who was minister of the interior at the time of the incident, stands accused of kidnapping and dereliction of duty after he refused to grant permission to the Open Arms ship to disembark its 147 passengers in the port of Lampedusa, thus forcing them to remain at sea for 19 days. Commenting on the prosecutors’ request, Salvini said in a video posted on Facebook: “Six years in prison for stopping landings and defending Italy and Italians? Madness. Defending Italy is not a crime and I will never give in”. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni offered Salvini, whose League (Lega) party is one of her government’s coalition partners, her “complete solidarity” and claimed that “turning the duty to protect Italy’s borders from illegal immigration sets a dangerous precedent”. Meloni’s comments have now provoked a political row, with Democratic Party (PD) leader, Elly Schlein, describing the prime minister’s intervention as “highly inappropriate”. “We believe the executive and the judicial branches should remain separate and independent,” Schlein said. Her condemnation of Meloni was echoed by the leader of the Greens and Left Alliance (AVS), Nicola Fratoianni, who dismissed the notion that the prosecutors had acted politically. “This is not a political trial, nor a trial against Italy, but simply a trial against someone who held 147 people hostage”. Prosecutor Geri Ferrari told the Palermo court that “between human rights and the protection of state sovereignty, it is human rights that must prevail in our democratic system”. Salvini is due to present his defence on 18 October.

A new security decree which could have a negative impact for people seeking asylum in Italy has been adopted by the Chamber of Deputies. The decree, which now needs to be approved by the Senate, consists of approximately 20 laws, including measures aimed at increasing the level of surveillance in prisons and pre-removal detention centres (CPRs), criminalising “passive resistance” to orders from prison or CPR officials, and preventing shops and businesses from selling mobile phone SIM cards to undocumented people. The government has argued that the decree is intended to “make life safer in Italy” but several opposition politicians have voiced concerns about its potentially damaging impacts. Commenting on the “passive resistance” measure, Riccardo Magi MP from the More Europe (+Europa) party said: “this equates non-violent protest with aggression”, while PD MP Simona Bonafè described it as “unjust and unconstitutional”. Valentina d’Orso MP from the Five Star Movement (Movimento 5 Stelle) accused the government of “writing a series of legal, ethical and civil aberrations”.

And finally, a campaign to change Italy’s citizenship law has gathered the 500,000 signatures it requires to trigger a referendum on the issue. The organisers of the campaign, which has been supported by a wide range of actors, including ECRE member organisation the Association for Juridical Studies on Immigration (ASGI), want to halve the time required for obtaining Italian citizenship from 10 to five years. They have claimed that a change in the law would make approximately 2.5 million people eligible for citizenship. Speaking to La 7 television channel on 25 September, Riccardo Magi MP explained the significance of the referendum campaign. “Citizenship laws are the way in which a country defines its identity, as well as looking to its future,” he said, adding: “At the moment, we have young people, maybe 25 or 27 years old, who were born here, have studied here, and yet don’t hold Italian citizenship”. He concluded: “I think ignoring that and not recognising them is a kind of self-harm for a country”. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has, however, stated that she sees no need to change the law. “I believe that 10 years is a suitable time for citizenship and Italy has an excellent law, so I don’t see the need to change it,” she said. The request to change the law now needs to be approved by Italy’s two highest courts if it is to be put to a referendum, which must have a 50% voter turnout to be considered valid.

Related articles