Brussels, 14/02/2011 (Agence Europe) - It is possible that on 24 February, during the EU Internal Affairs Council, the EU 27 will discuss the dramatic situation in Italy over the last few days, particularly on the island of Lampedusa, south of Sicily, where almost 5,000 immigrants from Tunisia have flooded in. A request for a debate was made in a letter by Italian Home Affairs Minister Roberts Maroni on Friday 11 February to the Council, the Hungarian Presidency and the Commission. The letter called on the Italian minister's counterparts to examine the exceptional situation in Italy and the more general question of managing illegal immigration into the EU, and strengthening of its tools in this area. On behalf of the EPP, Mario Mauro MEP, requested, in a letter dated 14 February addressed to Messrs Van Rompuy, Barroso and Buzek, that a special summit be organised for EU heads of state or government. The summit would focus on the question of illegal immigration in the EU and the impact of recent political upheavals in the Arab world.
On Saturday 12 February, Italy decreed an emergency humanitarian situation in the face of a wave of immigration not seen for months. On Italy's behalf, Maroni made an “urgent call” to the EU because the, “Maghreb is currently exploding”, he explained.
On Saturday, the minister also deplored the EU's lack of action and the fact that, “we have been left on our own, as usual”. He also proposed that the Tunisian authorities rapidly deploy Italian police in Tunisia, in an effort to reabsorb the flows of illegal immigrants. These statements created angry responses from both the new Tunisian authorities, which warned against any attempt to “interfere in its internal affairs” and from the Commission, which summarily dismissed the criticism made by Mr Maroni.
On Monday, European Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmström was keen to provide her version of events and said that she was very surprised by the comments she had read in the press. She provided assurances that assistance from the Commission had been proposed on Saturday 12 February by telephone to the Italian authorities but that the latter had simply declined the offer. The Commissioner's spokesman, Michel Cercone, said that “we asked them whether they needed assistance and concrete action and they replied 'no thank you, not at this stage'”. The spokesman explained that the Commission had so far not received any request from the Italian authorities to activate its tools, such as missions deployed by the European border agency, Frontex.
At this stage, the Commission is not planning on going to Italy but has ordered its staff to assess the Italian situation and pointed out that its services were “at the disposition of the authorities”. The Commission is still waiting for a more precise evaluation of “their needs”, in order for it to take appropriate action. One version emanating from Brussels is that the staff of minister Roberto Maroni have denied the Commission's claims. A spokesman for Maroni said that “it is not true that Italy rejected assistance from the Commission” and that it had, on the contrary, “made requests, not for the first time, for: Frontex action to introduce controls in the Mediterranean, manage immigration centres and repatriate illegal immigrants, and also respect for the principle of burden sharing, namely, that all EU countries take in refugees and illegal immigrants”.
In the meantime, a statement that goes beyond this controversy and which was reported by AFP, reveals that on Monday afternoon France had given its support to the Italian authorities and had asserted that it was in favour of strengthening the Frontex agency for fighting against illegal immigration, “a priority shared with Italy”. The French minister for foreign affairs called for a response from the whole of Europe.
One source explained that this would be the nub the discussion, which could take place within the framework of the next JHA Council, if the Hungarian Presidency meets the Italian request - it is due to decide over the next few days. So far, the Presidency is, “prepared to help Italy”, explained a spokesperson and the Hungarian and Italian ministers for home affairs are expected to discuss the matter on the phone on Monday evening.
Italy would like a broad debate on recent trends of illegal immigration in Italy, the consequences of current political upheavals in Tunisia and Egypt. It would also like to evaluate the experiences of other member states. On 5 February, 18 illegal immigrants from the Maghreb were intercepted in Spain. Attention, however, over recent months, has been focused on Greece, which is also having to tackle significant flows of illegal immigrants and asylum seekers (particularly from Turkey). At the end of October 2010, a border guard mission under the auspices of the Frontex agency was set up, which is now more widely known as the RABIT mission. This operation, coupled with EU financial aid of €9.8 million last December, is due to end on 2 March. Greece, however, has expressed the wish for the operation to be extended or for another intervention of this kind to be set up. This request and “possibility” is currently being examined by the Commission. (S.P./transl.fl)