During a trip to Ethiopia, PM Giorgia Meloni said the Italian government is aiming to eliminate migrant special protection for asylum seekers. She said it is seen as a pull factor for migrants coming to Italy.
The move is heavily backed by the rightwing anti-migrant League party. It will be included in an amendment to the government migrant-emergency decree passed in the wake of the February 26 shipwreck at Cutro in Calabria that killed at least 93 migrants.
“I have as a goal the elimination of migrant special protection, because it is a further protection with respect to what happens in the rest of Europe,” Meloni tweeted after meeting Ethiopian and Somali leaders in Addis Ababa.
“There is a proposal by the majority in its entirety, there is not an issue on which there are divergences,” she said denying differences of opinion between the League and her right-wing Brothers of Italy (FdI) party.
“It’s complex and it’s normal that there should be different amendments,” Meloni said referring to the fact that the special-protection move is contained in a League amendment.
The United Nations reacted, saying, “Any new policy must be in line with Italy’s human rights obligations”.
