‘A turning point’: Italy praises plan to overhaul Europe’s asylum rules

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on Thursday welcomed a plan to change the so-called Dublin Regulation on how asylum claims are processed in the European Union, describing it as a "turning point".

Published: 17 September 2020 14:02 CEST

'A turning point': Italy praises plan to overhaul Europe's asylum rules

Rescued migrants in Palermo, Sicily, on September 2nd, 2020. Photo: AFP

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen vowed on Wednesday to “abolish” the existing rules, which require asylum seekers to file their claims in the first EU country where they set foot.

Rome has long argued that this is unfair, as those who attempt the dangerous central Mediterranean crossing to Europe land on its shores or have to be rescued off its coasts.

READ ALSO: Italian charity boats resume migrant rescues at sea after two-month break

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte in Brussels. Photo: AFP

Leyen's announcement “gives us great pleasure,” Conte said, answering a question from journalists during a visit to a school in the capital..

“Italy has worked towards this a lot, because we consider the agreement (the Dublin Regulation) to be to the detriment of the countries of first-entry

landings,” he said.

“This is a turning point,” he added.

Greece also welcomed plans to update the rules, with migration minister Giorgos Koumoutsakos saying Thursday the Dublin Regulation “has failed and

must be changed”.

The Dublin Regulation came into force in 2013 as an agreement between the then-28 members of the EU including Britain, as well as Switzerland, Iceland,

Norway and Liechtenstein.

But its weaknesses were quickly exposed by the migration crisis of 2015, stoking anger in Greece and Italy where governments felt they had been left to

face the challenge alone.

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Since coming to power in 2019, Italy's current government has been pushing for a new, automatic system for distributing migrants rescued in the Mediterranean between European countries.

Such a deal would put an end to case-by-case negotiations over who will take those saved during the perilous crossing from North Africa, which have left vulnerable asylum seekers trapped in limbo at sea for lengthy periods.

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The strike comes after Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama — who is close to Meloni — called a top RAI editor to complain about a television report into Italy’s controversial migration deal with his country.

The Usigrai trade union called the strike from May 6 to May 7 saying talks with management had failed to address their concerns.

It cited numerous issues, including staff shortages and contract issues, but in first place was “the suffocating control over journalistic work, with the attempt to reduce RAI to a megaphone for the government”.

It had already used that phrase to object to what critics say is the increasing influence over RAI by figures close to Prime Minister Meloni, who leads Italy’s most right-wing government since World War II.

However, another union of RAI journalists, Unirai, said they would not join what they called a “political” strike, defending the return to “pluralism” at the broadcaster.

Funded in part by a licence fee and with top managers long chosen by politicians, RAI’s independence has always been an issue of debate.

But the arrival in power of Meloni — leader of the far-right Brothers of Italy party, who formed a coalition with Matteo Salvini’s far-right League party and the late Silvio Berlusconi’s right-wing Forza Italia — redoubled concerns.

Tensions erupted at the weekend amid accusations RAI censored a speech by a leading writer criticising Meloni ahead of Liberation Day on April 25, when Italians mark the defeat of Fascism and the Nazis at the end of World War II.

Both RAI’s management and Meloni have denied censorship, and the premier posted the text of the monologue on her social media.

In another twist, Albania’s premier confirmed Thursday he called senior RAI editor Paolo Corsini about an TV report on Sunday into Italy’s plans to build two migration processing centres on Albanian territory.

Rama told La Stampa newspaper the report was “biased” and contained “lies” – adding that he had not raised the issue with Meloni.

The Report programme claimed the costs of migrant centres, which are under construction, were already “out of control” and raised questions about criminals benefiting from the project.