After the clash over the Aquarius case (in the meantime the Sos Mediterranee ship is expected on Saturday in Valencia), peace. The first official visit of Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte abroad (excluding the meeting at the G7) is in Paris and begins with a vigorous handshake with the President of the French Republic Emmanuel Macron, to sanction the end of the diplomatic misunderstanding between two countries that they can afford to be enemies, especially in view of the important European summit scheduled for the end of the month, on 28 and 29 June. On the table at the meeting at the Elysée there was obviously the issue of migrants, on which in the meantime the Italian Prime Minister has also received the blessing of Donald Trump, who in an interview with Fox News he defined Conte as “fantastic. It seems that being tough on immigration now pays off”.
The premier arrived in the French capital essentially with two proposals: in the long term, the proposal to reform the Dublin rules and European hotspot management in the countries of origin in the short term – not only Libya but also those in the Sahara, such as Niger - to close the route to the Mediterranean while protecting the lives of migrants. Therefore limiting departures with a more significant presence on the African continent, which is not only the task of Italy (as happened with the landings) but of a European director. “The current system is not working – Macron said at a press conference -, the quota mechanism has not given the desired results and we will have to think of new solutions, even for solidarity we need common initiatives. We must carry forward profound initiatives and in full European cooperation”.
“Additional investments are needed to help the most fragile states”, added the French president, extending the discussion to the financial situation of the Eurozone, which “has improved but is not yet stable. This, and not just migrants, will be discussed at the next European summit. I hope that France and Italy will work hand in hand to help propose European and shared solutions, not national ones". "I thank Macron for the fruitful exchange - Conte then took the floor -, we talked above all about migration and economic governance, which will be at the center of the Council at the end of June".
“On immigration – continued Conte – the time has come to turn the page and on this there is full agreement with Macron. The Dublin regulation needs to change: Italy is strongly opposed to the proposal currently under discussion, and is preparing its own proposal which we look forward to submitting to France and other European partners. We will propose a paradigm shift: relations with countries of origin and transit must be strengthened, and all of Europe must assume this responsibility. Whoever sets foot in Italy, sets foot in Europe: no one can wash their hands of it”, added the premier. "Until now Italy has been left alone but now we need a stronger Europe".
The meeting was preceded by a series of new tensions on the migrant case, on the day in which the NGO Oxfam released a report according to which French police allegedly mistreat underage migrants in Ventimiglia (even with humiliations such as cutting off the soles of shoes or confiscating the Sim cards of mobile phones, or leaving the detainees without food and blankets), which was followed by new muscular declarations by the Minister of the Interior Salvini, who this morning threw away fuel on the fire: "In Ventimiglia the cynics and the irresponsible are beyond the border".
