Brussels, 15/06/2015 (Agence Europe) - Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi warned his European partners on Sunday 14 June that he would put in place a “plan B” that would above all “hurt Europe” if Italy does not receive stronger support from the EU in dealing with the influx of migrants. “If Europe chooses solidarity, then good. If it doesn't, we have a plan B, all ready, that will hit Europe hard in the first instance”, he said. The issue is on the agenda of the Justice and Home Affairs Council on Tuesday 16 June (see EUROPE 11334).
Annoyed by the member states' hesitations over the proposals put by the European Commission as part of its European Agenda for Migration, Renzi did not detail his plans, but they could include financial assistance or the issue of residence permits that allow migrants to move around within the Schengen area, as Silvio Berlusconi did in 2011, during the Arab Spring. Renzi is believed also to have spoken of pushing back the migrants' vessels and not allowing them to land in Italy.
The crisis “must not be under-estimated. It is a serious problem and, let me make it perfectly clear, the responses from Europe have so far not been good enough”, Renzi stated in an interview with Corriere della Sera. “Taking on 24,000 people (of the 40,000 proposed by the Commission on 27 May) is little short of an act of provocation”, he said. More than 57,000 migrants and asylum seekers have been rescued at sea and hosted by Italy since the start of the year, compared with 54,000 for the same period last year, Renzi pointed out and he intends to ratchet up the pressure on his counterparts ahead of the European summit at the end of June.
When asked on Monday, the European Commission said that it was awaiting a decision by ministers. “A decision needs to be taken now”, said Natasha Bertaud, spokesperson for Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos (Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship). She expressed the hope, too, that home affairs ministers will, on Tuesday 16 June, give political support to the European Agenda for Migration.
On the highly sensitive issue of sharing migrants, the commissioner plans to meet the Italian, German and French home affairs ministers, Angelino Alfano, Thomas De Maizière and Bernard Cazeneuve, on Tuesday morning before the Council meeting, the spokesperson further announced. (Solenn Paulic)