Italian premier: Situation with migrants - intractable

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has said that the situation with the arrival of numerous migrants from North Africa into the country is intractable.

While speaking at the Festival of the Regions event in Turin, she emphasised the importance of the government’s so-called “Mattei Plan” [named after former head of the Eni energy company Enrico Mattei, who pursued a policy of expanding energy cooperation with countries, including African ones by stimulating their development], TASS reports.

“This is a strategic project that involves the unification of many aspects - the development of African countries in such a situation where it is extremely difficult to regulate migration flows. This means that Italy will play the same role as in the Mediterranean,” Meloni said.

Italy is experiencing a migration crisis again due to increased migration flows, mainly from Tunisia and Libya. According to the Italian Interior Ministry, more than 130,000 people have arrived in the country by sea since the beginning of the year which is twofold more than in 2022 and almost threefold more than in 2021.