Migrants, a charter, and a fund to stop them

Human rights remain in the background, so much so that when it is pointed out that in Tunisia, a country that has just signed a memorandum of understanding with Brussels, migrants are dying in the desert on the border with Libya, Georgia Meloni sums it up: «Talk about it with the European Union. The agreement between the European Union and Tunisia, ”says the prime minister, forgetting that she was one of the main sponsors of that agreement.

After all, human rights were not the main issue of the International Conference on Development and Migration, which was held on Sunday in Farnesina on an Italian initiative. In addition to the leaders of the European institutions, there were 21 countries (France is absent, not invited) which in Palazzo Chigi’s intentions should become the main interlocutors for a new cooperation with the southern shore of the Mediterranean as well as launch the so-called “Rome process”, a kind of continuation of what has always been declared but hitherto unprecedented in the Mattei plan for Africa with the addition of the creation of an investment fund for Africa. “The aim of our work should also be to find the necessary resources to implement development initiatives,” the Prime Minister explained in her opening address to the conference. A fund for Africa in which Italy will be ready to commit nearly 1 billion euros pending the donor conference to be held next autumn. Not missing a sovereign note in the promise that countries receiving financing will decide how many and which investments need to be made.

However, there are four axes that must be worked on which are related to combating illegal immigration with greater coordination between the various police forces, repatriation, legal immigration through the flow decree and preferential paths for countries that cooperate in accelerating the return of their citizens, and finally, supporting refugees and refugees also through assistance to the closest countries such as Lebanon and Jordan for example.

The conference is the final stage of the journey Meloni started as it was clear to her that managing immigration was something more complex than the commercials shot when she was in opposition. As evidenced by the 86,132 landings recorded from January 1 to July 24, more than double compared to the same period in 2022. Or the decision to at least temporarily put aside the war for NGO ships now called for a helping hand in rescue operations even if destination ports remain far away. Therefore, it is better to divert attention to the other side of the Mediterranean, trying to bring the European Union with it. A maneuver that has worked so far, given that EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke on Sunday of the agreement reached with Tunisia as a “model” to be exported to other countries as well.

After all, Kais Saied was one of the key figures at the conference, Meloni welcoming all the honors. Which did not prevent the Tunisian autocrat from stressing that he does not intend, as Brussels would like, to turn Tunisia into a gathering point for migrants who crossed the country and entered Europe illegally. Just as he is not considering starting the economic reforms that the International Monetary Fund has been calling for for months to unlock a $1.9 billion loan that would give some oxygen to the country’s coffers. The “No’s” series concluded with the application to the United Nations for a new fund to draw from. A line that Saied also shares with Libyan Prime Minister Abdelhamid Dbeiba risks casting a heavy shadow over what could be the real developments of Sunday’s summit.