“Meloni is the loser in this affair” – Corriere.it

The Ong they save lives where aid from states is lacking. And their humanitarian commitment deserves ours gratitude it’s ours support.

To write it on Twitter theGerman ambassador to Italy, Viktor Ebling. In his tweet, the diplomat notes that in 2022 there are already over 1,300 people dead or missing in the Mediterranean. 12% of the survivors were saved by NGOs.

Ebling’s words come a few hours after the publication of a joint note by the governments of Italy, Malta, Cyprus and Greece. In the note, the interior ministers denounced that, due to their position, these countries are in fact a bear the heaviest burden of managing migratory flows in the Mediterranean, in full compliance with all international obligations and EU standards, and strongly reiterated the need to develop a new European policy on migration and asylum, truly inspired by the principles of solidarity and responsibility, and which is equally shared among all Member States.

The note of Italy, Gracia, Cyprus and Malta (but without Spain)

In the document, these countries also reiterated our position on the fact that the modus operandi of these private ships (those operated by non-governmental organizations, ed) not in line with the spirit of the international legal framework on search and rescue operations, which should be respected. Each state must effectively exercise jurisdiction and control over ships flying its flag.

The note was not signed by the government of Spain: Madrid, a Spanish government source told the Ansa agency, cannot support proposals that would premiere the Countries that do not comply with their obligations in terms of international maritime law and would be to the detriment of those who, like Spain, respect them and save lives with public resources.

The clash between France and Italy: Meloni the big loser

The intervention of the four governments of the countries of Southern Europe arrived while it does not diminish the controversy between Italy and France. In recent days, Italy has prevented the landing of the Ocean Viking ship, operated by Doctors Without Borders, carrying over 230 migrants, including some minors. The government of Paris has given the green light to disembark in a French port, but has underlined the unacceptable methods that have led to this outcome, and has announced that it will not accept the quota of over 3 thousand migrants landed in Italy, of which 500 within the end of the year, as foreseen by the European solidarity mechanism. For Olivier Veran, spokesman for the French government, Giorgia Meloni the big loser in this situation.

As written by Stefano Montefiori here, reconciliation will not be easy, because France and Italy remain firm in their positions. But if Rome seems willing to attempt a rapprochement, Paris believes that it has suffered a very serious wrong and is still thinking about retaliation, rather than re-establishing dialogue. For days in diplomatic circles there has been talk of a French president deeply angry at having been confronted with a fait accompli. What then his ministers stage the indignation also for internal purposes, at least in part, does not change the substance.

France feels it has suffered humiliation from Italy, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna, former ambassador to Rome from 2014 to 2017, reiterates it in an interview with Parisien: If Italy persists with this attitude there will be consequences, the title. Colonna received the Parisien journalists in her office at the Quai d’Orsay on Thursday afternoon and her sentences are published in the newspaper on newsstands today, after the filings and checks made by the directors, as usual in these cases. It can therefore be said that the interview represents the current position of Paris, and a new attack on the Italian government, with almost threatening tones. For Minister Colonna, the Ocean Viking crisis with Italy represents a very strong disappointment as regards the bottom of the question. Italy respects neither international law nor the law of the sea. The rule is that of the nearest safe port: the ship was close to the Italian coast. Given Italy’s stubborn refusal and lack of humanity, we welcomed the ship as an exception.

In reality, the rule is not so automatic, and the set of international conventions and agreements are not of univocal interpretation. But in any case what France complains about is the rupture of that relationship of mutual trust that had led to the agreement signed in June on a voluntary division of migrants. Italy’s decision (to refuse the landing at Ocean Viking, ed) is shocking because the European aid mechanisms and the sharing of the solidarity effort work. The statement with which Giorgia Meloni considers, speaking on our behalf, that it is up to France to welcome them, is in total contradiction with what we have said. These methods are not acceptable.

The position of the Italian government is profoundly different, which Fiorenza Sarzanini explains here:

“Italy is not the first safe haven for those arriving from Africa, especially not the only one. Nobody can think that our country is subordinate to others. This is not tolerable”. The line that filters from Palazzo Chigi on the eve of the European summit of foreign ministers keeps the tension high on the migrant dossier. So much so that in Bali, where the G20 begins on Tuesday, there is currently no bilateral agreement between Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and President Emmanuel Macron.

The attitude towards NGOs does not change, but now the priority is to transfer the matter to Brussels asking that the European Union take charge of enforcing the agreements that already exist, they have been signed by everyone, but they seem to be valid only for we.

These agreements, according to the Minister of the Interior Matteo Piantedosi, have amply demonstrated that they do not work because they are not respected, without causing damage to those who ignore them. The declarations of recent days by Germany and Luxembourg confirming their willingness to participate in the distribution of migrants were in fact a positive signal but considered not sufficient. In any case, because they place as a preliminary condition the obligation for Italy to take care of the first assistance of migrants after disembarkation. And above all because they do not set new rules regarding the activity of non-governmental organizations.

At the G7 on security to be held in Germany on Wednesday, the Italian government has a clear objective: “A burden-sharing mechanism that is effective, fair and permanent”.