Italian authorities have taken new measures to combat migration: on Friday, the foreign Ministers, the interior Ministry and the Ministry of justice signed an interministerial decree, which, in particular, provides for a gradual reduction to four months the terms of consideration of cases of repatriation of illegal refugees.
Presentation of the decree took place on Friday in the Italian foreign Ministry with the participation of Di Maio and justice Minister Alfonso Bonafede. This is the first document dealing with the acute migration problem that has been prepared since the formation of the current coalition government, which took office on 5 September.
Noting that the signing of this decree is only the first, but very important step towards further streamlining migration flows, Di Maio noted the importance of the repatriation of those who arrive by the Mediterranean Sea to Italy, having no reason to obtain political asylum.
According to the minister, about a third of migrants arrive to the Apennines from 13 countries – Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cape Verde, Ghana, Kosovo, Northern Macedonia, Montenegro, Senegal, Serbia and Ukraine. It is the immigrants from these countries that the new decree concerns. According to this document, the period for consideration of cases regarding the return to the homeland of citizens of these countries will be reduced from the current two years to four months.
On the eve of the signing of the decree, Di Mayo said that this document is intended to serve as a clear signal for all persons who are planning to illegally arrive in Italy. “It is useless if you come here without any reason to ask for asylum, because we will send you back in a peaceful and democratic way”, – the minister emphasized.
Europe is experiencing the most serious migration crisis since World War II, caused primarily by a series of armed conflicts and acute economic problems in Africa and the Middle East.
The previous Italian government, in which the leader of the League party Matteo Salvini was the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, declared the fight against illegal migration to be one of its priority tasks. In June, the Italian Council of Ministers approved a bill on security, which provided for further strengthening of measures to combat this phenomenon. Currently, Salvini sharply criticizes the course of the new cabinet on the migration problem, arguing that the number of migrants illegally arriving in Italy has recently increased significantly.