Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni have agreed to work together to “combat illegal immigration and human trafficking.” Sunak assured that the values ??of the two countries “are very aligned” at the time of receiving the far-right leader at Downing Street, who said that the Conservative government is doing “very well”, with drastic measures such as the deportation of refugees to Rwanda (paralyzed ten months ago by the intervention of the European Court of Human Rights).
“I fully agree with your work, I think we can do many things together and I believe this can be the beginning of a new era of bilateral cooperation,” Meloni said. The leader of Brothers of Italy arrived in London hours after the approval in the House of Commons (by a vote of 289 to 230) of the new and controversial Law on Legal Immigration that criminalizes and practically denies the right to asylum to those who arrive by boat to British shores.
A total of 45,728 immigrants completed the English Channel crossing last year, an increase of 60% over the previous year. Despite all the measures introduced by the British Government, more than 4,430 immigrants have arrived so far this year and 437 arrived on a single day in April. More than 104,000 immigrants arrived on the Italian shores in 2022 and 31,000 so far in years. The Meloni government decreed on April 11 a “state of emergency” in immigration matters that will last for at least six months, with the acceleration of deportations.
The Italian leader has lashed out not only against traffickers, but also against NGO rescue ships, which she accuses of serving as an incentive for the dangerous crossing of the Mediterranean. Meloni warns that the wave of illegal immigrants “prevents receiving the true asylum seekers” and links the crossings with smuggling and drug trafficking.
The discourse of far-right politics is very similar to that used in the United Kingdom by Home Secretary Suella Braverman, representative of the hard wing of the Conservative Party. In some controversial statements, while the Illegal Immigration Act was being debated in the House of Commons, Braverman assured that “the values ??of those who arrive by boat on our coasts are in conflict with our country.”
“We are seeing high levels of crime related to drug trafficking, exploitation and prostitution,” said Braverman, harshly criticized by Theresa May, who voted against the law. The former prime minister assured that the measures sponsored by the Sunak government are in serious contradiction with the Modern Slavery Law and can leave women and children seriously exposed.
In any case, immigration consumed a large part of the meeting between Sunak and Meloni, who also gave new impetus to the defense agreement signed in December with Japan for the construction of the Tempest fighters that will replace the Typhoons in 2035.
The two leaders have cultivated a “special relationship” since their first bilateral meeting in Sharm El Sheikh in November, coinciding with COP27. As part of his visit that will last for two days, Sunak in fact offered the Italian leader the scoop on the preparations for the Coronation of King Charles, during an unusual walk under the warheads of Westminster Abbey.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
