Italian Election: EU Bombshell As Brussels Chief Demands Tough Migrant Rules To Help Italy
European Parliament president Antonio Tajani has waded into the Italian election row and demanded Brussels rewrite the bloc's migration policies. Mr Tajani, who is being tipped for the post of prime minister of Italy, said the issue - a thorny in the run up to next month's election - is a problem which needs "to be solved".
Taking into account the current situation in Italy, which since the beginning of the year has seen more than 5,200 migrants arriving on its shores, Mr Tajani wants to adopt political and diplomatic solutions to tackle the problem.
Speaking to Italian website Quotidiano.net, Mr Tajani said: “Europe should repatriate all illegal immigrants and block new arrivals.”
He added: “We must prevent people from arriving at our borders by securing international deals with the nations the migrants come from.
“We also must save those who risk drowning when they cross the Mediterranean; lastly we must return illegal immigrants to their countries.”
Mr Tajani has been lobbying Brussels to modify the Dublin Regulation, which says asylum seekers are the responsibility of the first EU nation they arrive in.
As “solidarity within the bloc is essential”, he demands each member state takes a number of migrants to lift the weight and cost of immigration from Italy.
He also “reminds” Eastern European countries, the most averse to accept migrants, that “they benefit from EU budget” and “they have been welcomed when they were oppressed by the Soviet Union”.
Immigration is one of the main topics Italian parties are debating ahead of the elections on March 4.
Mr Tajani is a member of Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia, the main party of the centre-right wing coalition which is currently favourite to win the most seats in Rome.
Mr Berlusconi, party leader, who can’t run because of a tax fraud conviction, said on Twitter that Mr Tajani “would be a very beautiful choice as prime minister”.
Mr Tajani has denied he is exploiting immigration to gain the electorate’s favour or that he is running at all for the position.
Speaking to Radio Anch’Io, he said: “Being the President of the European Parliament, I don’t speak about Italian problems unless they directly concern Europe.
“A new political phase will start after the vote on March 4, but I am here to fulfil my role in Europe.”
If Mr Tajani took the Italian job, the EU would have a leader who would most likely favour greater integration, diminishing the possibility of an “Italexit”’, called for by some Italian members of far-right parties.
(EXPRESS)
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