Stop special protection, the hard line on landings – Corriere.it

The signal was given in the morning by the Undersecretary of the Interior Nicola Molteni, of the League: We will reset the special protection. an Italian unicum and over the years it has become an amnesty, an immigration attraction factor. A statement, that of the undersecretary, which supported the most important of the 21 amendments presented by the League to the decree approved in the Council of Ministers of Cutro, after the shipwreck that led to the death of 93 migrants.

The agreement

At the same time, the government parties were discussing precisely the amendments to the decree. And after Molteni, Nicola Procaccini, MEP of FdI and former spokesman for Giorgia Meloni at the Ministry of Youth intervened: The special protection allows us to make this disarray which unfortunately has taken place. Two clues are almost a test, and in fact the announcement arrives shortly after. The majority tabled a sub-amendment canceling the special protection. The text was signed by the group leaders in the Constitutional Affairs commission Daisy Pirovano (Lega) and Marco Lisei (FdI), first signatory Maurizio Gasparri for Forza Italia. The three senators say enough to amnesties for all illegal immigrants.

The League rejoices

But above all the League to sing victory, saying that in this way we return to the Salvini decrees. While from FdI they speak of a cohesive majority in achieving the goal of canceling the so-called special protection. Translated: there is no going back to the safety decrees, only a specific procedure is eliminated. All this on the day when the UN launches an appeal to our country: Any new policy in the context of the state of emergency – says the High Commissioner of the United Nations for Human Rights, Volker Trk – must comply with the obligations of the Italy on human rights. The reply from the group leader of FdI in the Chamber, Tommaso Foti, was immediate: The High Commissioner can deal with other and more significant things, instead of meddling in the legislation (…) that Parliament approves. Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi, on the other hand, says he shares what the CEI says. And what is that there is no alarm, but there is a technically intended state of emergency which has suggested to the government to equip itself with simplified procedures in order to be able to rise to the challenge.

The sub-amendment

The sub-amendment eliminates the conversion of special protection into a residence permit for work purposes. And it tightens permits for natural disasters and for medical treatment, the latter only being allowed for pathologies that cannot be treated in the country of origin. Given that the debate is slow in the commission, the text should be voted directly in the Chamber. It must be said that the decree was also the subject of discussions with the Quirinale, as always happens in these cases. But the majority say they are calm about these new changes: I am not aware of specific interlocutions either then or now – says the group leader of FdI in the Senate Lucio Malan – but certainly everything that is written by the majority is ensured remain within the scope of the Constitution.

The numbers

The residence permit for special protection represents the third form of asylum request in Italy after refugee status and subsidiary protection, provided for by EU regulations. It is granted to the migrant in cases in which the territorial commission does not recognize either refugee status or subsidiary protection, but deems that his removal from the national territory is not possible. It was introduced in 2018, but in 2020 the requirements have become much less stringent. Last year 10,865 migrants received special protection, against 6,161 who obtained refugee status and 6,770 subsidiary protection. What was supposed to be a residual procedure, therefore, has become the most used. Even if the numbers, all in all, are not that high.

The opposition

350 sub-amendments and various criticisms arrive from the opposition. Absurd to abolish special protection says the leader of the Democratic Party in the Senate Francesco Boccia, who speaks of a majority dominated by the League. I hope that the passage in Parliament will be of hard opposition, warns Nicola Fratoianni, for the Left Green Alliance. According to Riccardo Magi, +Europe, the government hits the victims of traffickers.