Meloni: EU asylum reform is not a solution
Following a postponement due to illness, Italian Prime Minister Meloni is now doing the honors and taking stock at the rescheduled press conference at the end of the year. She is not very enthusiastic about the EU asylum reform. She also comments on the AfD - but not favorably.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni does not consider the EU asylum reform to be a sustainable solution for curbing irregular migration to Europe. "I think the new rules are better than the previous ones," said the ultra-right head of government at the press conference to mark the end of the year in Rome. "But it is not a solution. We will never solve the problem if we think about how we deal with migrants when they arrive in Europe."
Meloni once again made it clear that, in her view, people must be prevented from coming to Europe in the first place. The head of government sees one possibility for this in agreements with countries of origin in order to ensure that people do not make the journey to Europe in the first place. As the country chairing the Group of Seven (G7) industrialized nations this year, Italy wants to focus on migration and Africa.
The EU member states and the European Parliament agreed on a reform of the common European asylum system before the turn of the year after a long struggle. Among other things, the agreement provides for a so-called solidarity mechanism. The distribution of those seeking protection is to be reorganized among the EU states: If countries do not want to take in refugees, they must provide support, for example in the form of monetary payments. The agreement also provides for uniform border procedures at the external borders and the accommodation of migrants in reception camps under detention-like conditions.
With regard to irregular migration to Europe and the arrival of numerous migrants on Italy's coasts, Meloni emphasized that Italy cannot tackle this problem alone. With the EU, the "right not to have to migrate must be defended against the right to be able to migrate", said Meloni. Her press conference had been postponed several times due to illness and was actually supposed to take place before the turn of the year.
No cooperation with the AfD
In addition to the asylum reform, she was also asked about an alliance with the AfD at EU level. She expressed little conviction about this. The Prime Minister saw "irreconcilable differences" with the party, which is why she could not imagine an alliance between it and her ultra-right Fratelli d'Italia. This begins with relations with Russia, she continued.
Meloni also pointed out that neither the AfD nor Marine Le Pen's Rassemblement National are members of the Group of European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) in the European Parliament. However, Le Pen's approach to Russia was more interesting than that of the AfD. "I don't give out grades, but there are more or less differences with some, I work with the ECR," said Meloni.
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Source: www.ntv.de
