A week and a half after the tragic boat accident near Calabria, the Italian government under Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni wants to introduce new immigration rules. The key point of the government decision is stricter action against people smugglers. According to the media, prison sentences of up to 30 years are planned for human traffickers who cause deaths.
The decree will be presented at a special council of ministers in Cutro in Calabria, where at least 73 migrants died in the boat accident on February 26.
After the accident, Meloni had written to the European Commission asking for immediate action to combat smuggling. The overloaded fishing boat, which the coastguard said was carrying more than 150 people from Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan, collided with rocks a few meters offshore and was wrecked by the high seas. The wreck of the boat was found scattered up to 300 meters from the coast.
Promoting regular migration planned
It is about tightening the penalties for people smuggling, but at the same time expanding the possibilities of regular migration, according to government circles in Rome. Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi recently said in a speech to the Chamber of Deputies that this should be done thanks to cooperation with the countries of origin of the migrants, who should commit to curbing emigration.
At the same time, Italy’s right-wing government plans to issue more than half a million legal immigration permits for workers over the next two years. “This year we will work to bring about 500,000 legal immigrants into the country. This can also be organized through multilateral and bilateral agreements in support of legal immigration,” said Agriculture Minister Francesco Lollobrigida. There is an acute shortage of seasonal workers in agriculture and tourism in particular.
EU pledges support to Italy
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, has promised Italy concrete support in the fight against smuggling. The EU will support the establishment of humanitarian corridors to Europe.
“We will allocate at least half a billion euros by 2025 to humanitarian corridors, supporting at least 50,000 people,” von der Leyen wrote in a letter to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Tuesday.
Source: Krone
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