In a letter dated 6 March to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen praised Italy’s response to Europe's irregular migration crisis, stating
that "the work done by Italy and others to offer safe and legal pathways to vulnerable people through humanitarian corridors makes a vital contribution." Von der Leyen also stressed that migration is a European challenge that requires a European solution, and urged EU lawmakers to finalize the legislation forming the bloc's New Pact on Migration and Asylum.
The letter also references the upcoming EU Resettlement Forum in May, which will look at how to continue supporting Italy's experience with humanitarian corridors at the EU level. The letter is in response to a letter from Meloni following the sinking off the south Italian coast of Calabria of a boat carrying several hundred migrants, leaving more than 60 people dead. Since the tragedy, there have been contradictory statements from the Italian and Greek governments and the EU's border control agency Frontex about the events leading up to the boat sinking.
However, the Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi reiterated on Tuesday that Frontex did not provide any warnings or distress alerts to Italian authorities regarding the migrants whose boat shipwrecked off the coast of Calabria. Nonetheless, a source within Frontex informed EURACTIV that they had intercepted the ship on the night of 25 February and then communicated with Italian authorities, sharing information about poor sea conditions, thermal imaging showing the possibility of a large number of people in the bow, and other data.
Italy has been adopting a tougher stance on migration, with Prime Minister Meloni cracking down on rescue vessels, which her government says encourage people to make the perilous trip across the Mediterranean from northern Africa. Her right-wing coalition government has also been accused of controversial pushbacks of migrant boats seeking to land. In February, the Italian parliament passed a government decree establishing a code of conduct for migrant charity ships, despite criticism from the United Nations and humanitarian groups.
Meanwhile, EU leaders adopted their toughest stance yet on migration at a summit focused primarily on the matter in February, promising to ramp up action on migration control and repatriation with third countries, primarily in North Africa. They also threatened to suspend aid, tariff-free trade, and visa access to countries that refuse to take back failed asylum seekers. Von der Leyen's letter provides more detail on the new African partnerships outlined at the February summit, promising that "as part of our programming of EU funds this year, we will once again give priority to this work, with a particular focus on Tunisia and Egypt." Photo by Rock Cohen, Wikimedia commons.