Meloni cements the anti-immigration law with a law – With a legislative decree, she herself defines the safe countries –

Immigration and the adoption of a unified strategy around it are a permanent thorn for the European Union. The rapid rise of the extreme right and the imposition of its agenda on this critical issue are setting new standards for the old continent.

First Germany and then other European countries have reintroduced tougher border controls, which are inconsistent with what the Schengen Treaty provides. At the same time in Brussels, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen adopts the far-right agenda and calls for hot spots outside the EU for asylum seekers, exactly what Georgia Meloni is doing in Albania.

The policy of Italy’s far-right prime minister, who struck a deal with Albania on immigration, is finding more and more supporters within the bloc. The agreement in question stipulated that the latter would accept up to 36,000 migrants a year for the next five years and their asylum applications would be processed in two centres, where male asylum seekers – the agreement excludes women, children and vulnerable people – in fact they will be held for several years. But after the decision of the Rome court against her, she received a severe blow.

The maneuver of Rome

In a bid to bypass legal hurdles that could block a multimillion-euro deal with Albania aimed at curbing migrant arrivals, the Italian government has approved a legislative decree. This was in connection with the case of the twelve migrants whom the court in Rome ordered to be taken back to Italy as their countries of origin, Bangladesh and Egypt, were not safe enough for them to be repatriated.

Thus, the Italian Prime Minister presented a decree which will henceforth determine which are the safe countries of origin for immigrants. Meloni’s goal is for the Italian Navy and Coast Guard to resume transporting asylum seekers to the two closed Italian centers in northern Albania.

Opposition parties and some media in Italy said the initiative, which will cost about 1 billion euros over five years, has already failed, noting that the government spent 250,000 euros to transport the 16 men to Albania by military boat.

Meloni has strongly promoted the deal, arguing that it could be a model for other European countries. However, the operation has been widely criticized by human rights groups and NGOs working in the Mediterranean to rescue people during the perilous crossing to Europe, at a time when many shipwrecks occur off the coast of European states.

Good night, Schengen

The issue of immigration is particularly sensitive within the EU due to the rise of the far right and seems to be causing a headache for member states. Some countries want new rules, with express deportations even in countries under regimes like that of the Taliban in Afghanistan or Bashar al-Assad in Syria. All this before the new EU pact on migration and asylum has even been implemented – it will come into full force in two years. Still others ask for its implementation to be accelerated.

The pact has been criticized by many who say it is missing a key element: how to effectively deport people who have been ordered to leave the EU but don’t. However, the Rome-Tirana agreement seems to have really changed Europe’s immigration pace. However, Von der Leyen pointed out that there are many questions that remain to be answered.

Germany caused surprise when it tightened border controls amid rising support for the far-right.

Poland, where Prime Minister Donald Tusk wants to temporarily suspend people’s internationally recognized right to seek asylum in his country, accuses Russia and Belarus of pushing migrants across its borders. Finland also moved along the same wavelength, closing its borders citing the same reasons.

At the same time, the Netherlands and Hungary are asking for an exemption from the EU’s migration policy. Dutch media even reported that the government is considering deporting people whose asylum applications are rejected to Uganda, provided an agreement is reached with the eastern country. Africa.

Legalization of immigrants in Spain

Against the policies the EU appears to be adopting, the Spanish government of Pedro Sanchez is finalizing the details of a plan to mass legalize hundreds of thousands of migrants living in the country. The bill will ensure a significant reduction in administrative deadlines for the temporary legalization of immigrants whose asylum applications were previously rejected, according to information from the Spanish newspaper “El País”. Sanchez, unlike many European leaders, believes that prosperity comes through immigration. He even argues that foreigners could fill the job vacancies as well as the social needs of the elderly living in the countryside, as a large part of the population, especially the university-educated youth, is leaving for the big urban centers.

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