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ITALIAN ELECTIONS

How victory for Italy’s far right could impact lives of foreign residents

Italy's hard-right anti-immigration alliance have come out on top in the country's elections. But what exactly are these parties planning to do once in government and how would their policies affect foreign residents?

How victory for Italy's far right could impact lives of foreign residents
League leader Matteo Salvini (L) and Fratelli d'Italia leader Giorgia Meloni are set to form a government together following the election. Photo by MIGUEL MEDINA / AFP

If you’ve been following our coverage of the Italian elections in the last few days you’ll know that the right-wing alliance led by the far-right Brothers of Italy party under Giorgia Meloni has triumphed and looks set to form a new government in the coming weeks- or months. 

TIMELINE: What happens next after Italy’s historic elections

This coalition of parties led by the post-fascist Brothers of Italy (Fratelli d’Italia, or FdI), along with the hard-right populist League, led by Matteo Salvini, and Silvio Berlusconi’s conservative Forza Italia gained around 45 percent of the vote.

EXPLAINED: Is Brothers of Italy a ‘far right’ party?

As the leader of the party that took the biggest share of the vote – around 26 percent – FdI leader Giorgia Meloni is on course to become the next prime minister of Italy.

While they’re often described as a ‘centre-right’ coalition in Italian media, at least two of these parties have policies which lean heavily towards the far right – particularly when it comes to immigration, which they frame as a question of national security.

League leader Matteo Salvini, well known for his populist, anti-immigration stance, is reportedly aiming to return to his previous post of interior minister if the right-wing bloc takes power, meaning his party would have the biggest influence over policies affecting foreign nationals living in Italy.

READ ALSO: ‘I plan to leave’: Foreigners in Italy fear for their futures if far right wins election

His party promotes a hard line against “illegal immigration”, with a heavy campaign focus on stopping migrant arrivals by sea from northern African countries. But the League also has a history of making life more difficult for documented immigrants and refugees.

Salvini was Italy’s interior minister between June 2018 and September 2019, during which time he passed a ‘security decree’ (often referred to as the ‘Salvini Decree’) that abolished the country’s humanitarian protection status for migrants and prevented asylum seekers from accessing reception centres.

The decree also made applying for Italian citizenship a more difficult and uncertain process, and made it easier for the state to remove Italian citizenship from those who have naturalised.

This decree was overhauled and softened in 2020 with the passage of a new law by the coalition government then in power.

The right-wing bloc has indicated it intends to bring the decree back, with the coalition’s immigration agenda in its joint election manifesto consisting of a series of mostly vague statements topped by a bullet point that simply reads “security decrees”.

READ ALSO: Five ways Italy’s 2022 elections will be different

League leader Matteo Salvini (C) visits a migrant reception facility on the southern Italian island of Lampedusa on August 4th as part of his election campaign. Photo by Filippo MONTEFORTE / AFP

On the topic of immigration, the manifesto also pledges that the parties will:

  • “Fight irregular immigration and ensure orderly management of legal immigration;
  • Promote the social and labour inclusion of legal immigrants;
  • Defend national and European borders as requested by the EU with the new pact on migration and asylum, with border control and blocking of landings in agreement with the North African authorities, to prevent the trafficking of human beings;
  • Create centres in non-European countries, managed by the European Union, to evaluate asylum applications.”

These pledges were summed up by FdI leader Giorgia Meloni in a debate with centre-left leader Enrico Letta.

Meloni said Europe should strike a deal with North African governments to keep their citizens at home and open local centres for refugee applications.

READ ALSO: Five key points from the Meloni vs Letta debate

“We must prevent the departure of the boats, open application centres and evaluate in Africa who has the right to be a refugee. By blocking illegal immigration, legal immigration can be reopened,” she said.

Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera noted that Meloni appeared “more cautious than usual on the issue of migration” in the pre-election televised debate.

Letta pointed out that the FdI leader no longer uses the term “naval blockade” – something she has repeatedly called for in posts on social media.

Leader of Italian far-right party Fratelli d’Italia (Brothers of Italy) Giorgia Meloni, addresses supporters during a rally in Milan on September 11th. Photo by Piero CRUCIATTI / AFP

He noted that Meloni was also silent on her coalition partner Salvini’s preferred tactic of blocking rescue boats and refusing to allow them to land – something he is currently standing trial for in Italy, after repeatedly leaving people stranded at sea during his time in government.

Salvini potentially faces up to 15 years in prison on charges of kidnapping and abuse of office for using his position as interior minister to detain 147 people at sea in August 2019.

The trial is ongoing, with the next hearing set for December this year – however this doesn’t prevent Salvini from standing for election or taking office again.

While it seems likely that the League’s return to power would mean the return of such policies under new security decrees, there’s nothing in the manifesto or the debate so far which gives more concrete information on their plans, or on how the parties would treat legal migrants to Italy.

READ ALSO: Will Italy’s hard right win the election with a ‘super majority’?

And it’s also worth noting that how much power the new government will have to enact these policies will depend largely on the size of their majority.

Either way, given Salvini’s history of tightening rules on obtaining Italian citizenship and his ‘Italians first’ rhetoric, it’s safe to say foreign nationals in Italy shouldn’t expect life to get any easier under a new hard-right government – wherever they come from, and whatever their immigration status.

Economy and social matters

Of course it’s not all about immigration when it comes to the impact of the result on the lives of foreign residents – much will depend on the economy.

The programme agreed in advance by the coalition says Italy should make full use of the almost 200 billion euros ($193 billion) it has been earmarked under the EU’s post-pandemic recovery plan.

But it talks about changing the agreement with Brussels, which requires major structural reforms in return for the money. It says there are “changed conditions”, noting rising costs of energy and raw materials.

It calls for a reduction in the tax burden for families, businesses and the self-employed, including a flat tax for the latter, without giving any detail.

The citizens’ income, an unemployment benefit introduced under the populist Five Star Movement, will be abolished.

The programme also calls for a revaluation of the minimum pension, social and disability payments.

As inflation soars, there is also a promise to protect the purchasing power of families, workers and pensions, and reduce VAT on energy products.

Find all the latest news on Italy’s election here.

Member comments

  1. There is no need to fear Salvini unless you come over illegally or from Africa as his policies are correct and will hopefully protect Italy once again.

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RESIDENCY PERMITS

‘Huge setback for non-EU workers’: Plan to make it easier to move around Europe fails

EU governments have failed to agree on a reform of EU long-term residence rules that would have made it easier for third-country nationals to move within the European Union.

'Huge setback for non-EU workers': Plan to make it easier to move around Europe fails

Opposition to the planned changes from France and Belgium – which holds the rotating Presidency of the EU Council this semester – proved decisive. In the end negotiations reached a deadlock and the planned reform – which would essentially have made it easier for non-EU nationals to live and work in other Schengen area countries – was dropped.

German MEP Damian Boeselager, the lead negotiator for the European Parliament,  was left angry by the failure and shared the news this week with colleagues in the home affairs committee.

“This is a huge setback for everyone who hoped Europe would finally understand the necessity to update its migration laws and become more attractive for international talent,” he said.

“The long-term residence directive… was adopted first in 2003 and has not been updated since. But the Council was not willing to accept any of the substantial improvements that the European Commission proposed… Instead, it seems that one national government, in particular, threw all its negotiation power and size to build a blocking minority,” he added.

“I am of course super sad for all the work that has been put into this… But I think the real tragedy lies outside this house and that is, in two different areas.

“First, for the millions of third-country nationals already living in Europe who would have been subject to the improvements, but also for all those who are considering to come to Europe and now might decide against it. And second, for the thousands of businesses and start-ups that hoped that there would be easier procedures and less waiting times and who have been deprived of the chance to make Europe more competitive.”

Little-known EU residence status

Under a little-known EU law, third-country nationals can acquire EU-wide long-term residence if they have lived ‘legally’ in an EU country for at least five years. They also must not have been away for more than 6 consecutive months and 10 months over the entire period. (British citizens covered by the Withdrawal Agreement benefit from different rules on absences in comparison to permanent residence, but it is not clear what impact they would have on qualifying for EU long term residence. We are seeking clarification.)

In addition, they have to prove to have “stable and regular economic resources”, health insurance and can be required to meet “integration conditions”, such as passing a test on the national language or culture.

In theory the status, which was created to “facilitate the integration” of non-EU citizens who live in the EU on a long-term basis, grants some free movement rights. However, in practice, this is not the case as different rules on residency apply in each EU country and most applicants are simply unaware the EU status exists.

In an interview with The Local last year, Damian Boeselager, a member of the Greens/European Free Alliance group in the European Parliament, said that free movement for non-EU citizens was still an “illusion”.

“The truth is that Europe needs labour migration in all areas and all skill levels and therefore, if we want to be more attractive, we should make it easier (for non-EU citizens) to move from one member state to the next,” he argued.

In 2020, 23 million third country nationals – 5 percent of the EU’s population- were living in EU member states. Of these, more than ten million held a long-term or permanent residence permit.

INTERVIEW: Why it must be made easier for non-EU citizens to move around Europe

‘Time was against us’

The European Commission had proposed in 2022 to simplify EU long-term residence rules. Under proposed measures, non-EU citizens would have been able to cumulate residence periods in different EU countries to reach the 5-year requirement, instead of resetting the clock at each move. The plan would have meant all periods of legal residence would have been fully counted towards the 5 years, including those spent as students, beneficiaries of temporary protection or on temporary grounds – which is currently not the case.

Integration tests should not have been too burdensome or expensive, nor should they have been requested for long-term residents’ family reunifications. The Commission had also proposed to extend from 12 to 24 months the possibility to leave the EU without losing the status, with facilitated procedures to re-acquire it after longer absences.

READ ALSO: What is the EU’s plan to make freedom of movement easier for non-EU nationals?

The Commission’s proposal had to be agreed by the European Parliament and Council, which is made of representatives of national governments.

The Parliament supported the Commission and sought to further relax rules, asking to cut the residency requirement to obtain EU long-term residence from five to three years.

But when it came to the EU Council it proved harder to reach an agreement.

The representatives of EU governments only agreed to cumulate residence periods of up to two years in other member states and only in certain circumstances, such as for EU Blue Cards or other permits for highly qualified employment.

EU governments also wanted to continue requiring “integration conditions” and to “assess the situation of their national labour markets.”

The Council and the Parliament had to reconcile their positions to agree the final text of the law. But after months of discussions, the Belgian Presidency said this week there was not “enough support” from EU member states to continue talks.

Belgium’s Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration, Nicole De Moor, said: “We have to realise that time is against us on this subject. We are nearing the end of the legislative term… we had a lot of discussions, but unfortunately at this point in time the water is too deep.”

A key factor of disagreement was the possibility to cumulate residence periods in different EU member states. France in particular was against it as this would have clashed with the idea of integrating long term into French society, an EU diplomat told The Local.

Other countries were concerned by the ability to exchange information to verify residence periods. Austria, on its part, was against the inclusion of family members in the scope of the directive.

Overall, The Local understands, with the European elections looming there was not appetite among EU governments to relax such measures.

What happens next

The file could now remain pending until another presidency puts it back on the Council agenda, but this is unlikely to happen soon, as the next Presidencies will be held by Hungary and Poland. The European Commission could also decide to withdraw the proposal with a view of presenting a new one, but that won’t happen until the next Commission takes office.

The article is published in cooperation with Europe Street News.

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