Luxembourg, 12/04/2011 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 11 April, at the end of the home affairs ministers' meeting, Italian Minister for Home Affairs Roberto Maroni expressed his disappointment that once again, member states had not met a number of his requests. These requests include the activation of the 2001/55 directive on temporary protection in the event of mass immigration into the EU. As he left the meeting, the Italian minister even asked whether it was worth his country being part of the EU and affirmed that it was better “to be alone rather than to be in bad company”. According to Maroni, the other member states had urged Italy “to go it alone” in the face of mass immigration from Tunisia. The minister added that the meeting had been “disappointing”.
Maroni had already expressed his disappointment on 24 February, at the end of the Justice and Home Affairs Council in Brussels, where he had expected a degree of “burden sharing” in the field of illegal immigration. On Monday evening in Luxembourg however, Hungarian Minister for Home Affairs Sandor Pinter qualified the ideas expressed by Maroni somewhat and underlined that despite the reservations, Italy, “had approved the Council's conclusions”, which meant that they could effectively be adopted. The minister also added that “Mr Maroni did not say anything in this connection” during the meeting. (S.P./transl.fl)