Keir Starmer showing ‘great interest’ in Italy’s migration deal to send asylum seekers to Albania, Giorgia Meloni says
SIR Keir Starmer has shown “great interest” in Italy’s migration deal with Albania, the Italian PM has revealed.
Giorgia Meloni said she and Sir Keir both agree there should be “no fear” in shaking up the fight against illegal migration with “new solutions”.
And she said she provided him with “all the elements to better understand” the partnership, under which which some adult male migrants rescued will be taken to Albania while their asylum claims are processed.
Sir Keir insisted the deal is different from the “gimmick” Rwanda plan – which he scrapped – that would have blocked any return to Britain even for successful asylum seekers.
Meloni’s comments came during a joint press conference in Rome where Sir Keir pledged £4million for Italy’s work stopping Mediterranean crossings.
The PM is looking to Italy’s impressive 60 per cent drop in illegal migration as a blueprint for Britain’s new strategy.
The drop has been attributed to series of financial deals with North African nations such as Tunisia but the Italian government is is optimistic that migrant numbers will drop even further once the planned migrant processing centre in Albania opens later this year.
But he said: “We’ve discussed the Albania arrangement, which isn’t up and running yet and therefore we don’t yet know the outcome of it, but we discussed the concept of it.”
Meanwhile, Ms Meloni told reporters: “Sir Keir and I agree that there should be no fear in exploring new solutions (on migration).
“We discussed the protocol between Italy and Albania, which is a solution to which the British government has shown great interest and we have of course provided all the elements to better understand this mechanism.”
The right-wing leader also insisted that if the model ends up working, it could become the “key turning point” in the fight against illegal migration due to its “element of deterrence”.
A Downing Street spokesman said the cash will go towards the “Rome Process” , an Italian Government’s project, and it will “support vital infrastructure and renewable energy projects” in Africa.
Starmer has promised to smash the gangs - pressure is now on to get results
From Martina Bet, Political Correspondent in Rome
Sir Keir Starmer has taken a significant step by engaging with Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni – one of Rishi Sunak’s closest allies on the global stage – to address illegal migration.
Sir Keir flew to Rome for what sources described as a “very long” working lunch with Meloni at the historic Villa Doria Pamphili.
His main focus was to learn how Italy has successfully reduced migrant arrivals by 60 per cent in the past year, a result of key financial deals with North African nations such as Tunisia.
These agreements have been widely praised for reducing crossings, and Italy is optimistic that migrant numbers will drop even further once Meloni’s planned migrant processing center in Albania opens later this year.
Sir Keir has expressed interest in striking similar deals for third-country processing – which is different from the scrapped Rwanda scheme, where even successful asylum seekers would have been stuck in the country.
This approach represents a bold move for the PM, signalling a break from traditional Labour policies and demonstrating his commitment to tackling the complex issue of illegal migration.
However, it also leaves him vulnerable to criticism.
Human rights groups and progressive voices within his party are likely to raise concerns about the ethical implications of outsourcing asylum processing to other nations.
But more importantly, there are only so many times he can promise to “smash the gangs” before the words begin to ring hollow. Voters will want to see concrete action getting concrete results.
And with Channel crossings showing no signs of slowing, the pressure is now on for him to turn the tide.
This will help to “reduce the numbers of those who flee their home countries and travel illegally to Europe”.
The spokesman added: “The UK and Italy will also agree to work more closely to tackle illicit financial flows linked to organised immigration crime and increase the sharing of intelligence to disrupt the supply chains used by people smuggling gangs.”
Speaking in Rome alongside Meloni, Sir Keir said they could make progress on “the challenge of irregular migration”.
The PM said: “As director of public prosecutions in Britain some years ago, I saw the important work that can be done across borders on issues like counter-terrorism, and I have never accepted, as we discussed, that we can’t do the same with smuggling gangs.
“And now, of course, Italy has shown that we can. You’ve made remarkable progress working with countries along migration routes as equals to address the drivers of migration at source and to tackle the gangs.”
It comes as pressure on Sir Keir to act on his promise to “smash the gangs” is mounting after eight migrants died while trying to cross the Channel on Sunday morning.
On the eve of his visit to Rome, Sir Keir named top cop Martin Hewitt as the boss of the newly-formed Border Security Command, which is tasked with cracking down on criminal networks behind small boat crossings.
He and Mr Hewitt – the former chairman of the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) – are looking to Italy’s impressive 60 per cent drop in illegal migration as a blueprint for Britain’s new strategy.
They visited the National Coordination Centre for Migration in Rome earlier today – where officials from the EU’s border agency Frontex work alongside the Italians to coordinate their response.
In a bid to clamp down on migration, Ms Meloni struck a deal with Albania last year, allowing some asylum-seekers to be shipped off to the Balkan nation for processing.
However, this option is only available to migrants from countries Italy deems “safe.”
The controversial agreement has drawn comparisons to the UK’s now-axed Rwanda plan,
But in the Albania deal, migrants who win asylum won’t be forced to stay there, unlike the Rwanda scheme, where successful applicants would have been stuck in the country.
When asked if he might follow Italy’s lead, Sir Keir hinted at being open to the idea at the weekend, saying: “Let’s see. It’s early days, I’m interested to see how it plays out, like everyone else.”
At the press conference, Meloni said: “We talked about the Italy-Albania agreement, for which the British government is showing a lot of attention.”
Although the Albania deal hasn’t fully kicked in, Italy has also struck financial deals with Tunisia and Libya – major departure points for migrants attempting to reach Europe.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told the BBC this morning: “There are four different things that the Italians are doing that we’re interested in.
“The first is the work that they are doing around organised immigration crime.
“That’s the work that we are substantially gearing up, where we will be doing a huge technology upgrade as well, and where we want to work with Italy, with Germany, with other European countries, with France as well.
“The second thing they’re doing is they’re working with other countries upstream to prevent people leaving North Africa in the first place…working with Tunisia, we think we should be part of those international co-operations as well.
“The third thing they’re doing is major returns. So they’re speeding up returns for those who don’t have a right to be there. We’ve been doing that through the summer as well, so we’ve had a substantial increase in returns for people who don’t have a right to be in the UK, because the rules need to be respected and enforced.
“The fourth thing they’re doing is the Albania programme, but that hasn’t started yet, so we’ll need to see what that does. It’s very different from the Rwanda partnership that the UK government had, and we’ll have to see how that plays out.”
During the press conference, the PM also confirmed £485 million of investment into UK defence, clean growth and innovation by two major Italian companies – Leonardo, a defence company, and Marcegaglia, a steel manufacturer.