(AP) Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni’s government vowed on Monday to open controversial migrant processing centers in Albania that have remained dormant after Italian courts refused to validate the transfer of the first two groups of migrants. Government ministers “repeated the firm intention […]
(Politico) Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini was acquitted Friday on kidnapping charges over his decision in 2019 to block a migrant rescue ship carrying more than 140 people from coming ashore in Italy. Salvini, who was serving as Italy’s interior minister […]
(AP) Italy’s deputy premier, Matteo Salvini, has sounded defiant ahead of Friday’s court verdict in Sicily for blocking some 100 migrants at sea on a humanitarian rescue boat in 2019 when he was interior minister. Salvini, who leads the Euroskeptic, anti-migrant League, […]
(Reuters) Matteo Salvini, Italy’s deputy prime minister, faces a possible six-year prison term if a court finds him guilty on Friday of kidnapping a boat full of migrants who were held offshore Italy for almost three weeks in 2019. Salvini was interior […]
(Reuters) Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni urged the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on Tuesday to dismiss objections to her government’s flagship plan to send sea migrants to Albania. EU judges have been asked to weigh in on the scheme by Italian […]
(Euronews) A court in Rome has suspended the approval of detention orders for seven migrants who were relocated last week to a repatriation centre in Albania established by Italy. Monday’s ruling has blocked the Italian government’s efforts for the second time to […]
(AP) An Italian naval ship carrying migrants was en route Wednesday to Albania to have asylum applications processed under a five-year deal to handle asylum claims outside the European Union’s borders that has already hit a legal roadblock. An Italian interior ministry […]
(AFP) A Sicilian court on Monday dealt a fresh blow to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s migrant policy by declaring applications for asylum from Egypt could not be fast-tracked. Egypt was included on the government’s list of so-called “safe” countries to which […]
(Politico) When Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau headed over to the Elysée palace to meet President Emmanuel Macron on Monday, he wasn’t looking for commonality. He went to stand his ground. Macron and Retailleau spoke face to face for the first [time] since […]
(Reuters) Italy’s government on Monday passed a decree aimed at overcoming court objections to its flagship immigration plan that is aimed at deterring boat migrants by sending them to detention camps in Albania. The plan, launched last week, was immediately undermined as […]
(AP) A court in Italy on Friday ruled against the right-wing government’s move to detain 12 migrants at newly opened centers in Albania, highlighting a key hurdle in the administration’s plan to outsource some of its migrant processing to the Balkan country. […]
(Politico) Some European Union countries, led by Italy, are pushing to normalize ties with Syria in order to facilitate deportations of migrants as mainstream leaders look to replicate anti-immigrant far-right parties’ surging popularity across the continent. “It is necessary to review the […]
(Euronews) Ursula von der Leyen has offered her strongest endorsement yet to the controversial project of establishing so-called “return hubs” outside the European Union territory to transfer asylum seekers whose applications have been rejected. The idea was reflected in a letter the […]
(AP) Italy is transferring the first group of migrants to Albania, the Interior Ministry said Monday, as part of a contentious plan to process thousands of asylum-seekers outside its borders. A naval ship departed from the island of Lampedusa with 16 men […]
(AFP) British Prime Minister Keir Starmer praised his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni on Monday for her efforts in reducing illegal migration, saying his “government of pragmatism” sought new approaches to the hot-button topic. On his first visit to Italy since his centre-left […]
(Reuters) An Italian prosecutor on Saturday asked a judge to sentence right-wing League leader Matteo Salvini to six years in prison over his 2019 decision to prevent more than 100 migrants from landing in the country. The then interior minister, who is […]
(Breitbart) Dividends have begun to pay off for Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s migration strategy as figures have shown a near-two-thirds reduction of illegal arrivals over last year. Statistics released this week by the Italian Interior Ministry showed that 41,530 illegal immigrants landed […]
(Politico) Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda asylum policy has repeatedly been declared illegal by U.K. judges, is yet to send any migrants to Rwanda, and has so far failed to rescue the British prime minister from the verge of electoral oblivion. That hasn’t put […]
(ANSA) A middle school teacher in the northern city of Treviso has exempted two Muslim students from studying Dante on the grounds that it is a religious work that clashes with their Islamic faith, local dailies reported Friday, sparking a major row […]
(European Conservative) Éric Zemmour and Marion Maréchal officially launched their campaign for the European elections with a major rally in Paris on Sunday, March 10th, designed to recapture the heyday of its presidential campaign when the Reconquête party managed to gather thousands […]
(Canadian Press) Pro-Palestinian protests that include hatred or harassing behaviour cross a line, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday. Trudeau said at a press conference in Toronto that he’s heard from too many members of Canada’s Jewish community who have seen protests […]
(Canadian Press) Organizers of a pro-Palestinian protest that disrupted a weekend reception featuring Prime Minister Justin Trudeau say they’re being unfairly vilified. The event, which was to include Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, was abruptly called off as demonstrators blocked entrances to […]
(AP) Albania’s Parliament voted Thursday to approve a deal for the country to hold thousands of asylum seekers for Italy, despite protests from opposition lawmakers and human rights groups. Under the five-year deal, Albania would shelter up to 3,000 migrants rescued from […]
(Breitbart) Seven teenage migrants from Egypt have been arrested after a 13-year-old girl was gang raped in front of her boyfriend this week in Catania, an ancient port city on the island of Sicily. According to information released by local police, a […]
(Politico) Geert Wilders may be just the tip of the iceberg. Following the anti-Islam politician’s shock election win in the Netherlands, European elites are nervously scanning the political landscape for signs of what’s to come — including further surprise wins from far-right […]
(AP) Albania agreed Monday to give temporary shelter to some of the thousands of migrants who reach Italian shores while their asylum bids are being processed, offering its neighbor across the Adriatic Sea some relief in managing some of the arrivals. The […]
(Reuters) Italy will support the creation of a European Union naval mission to patrol maritime borders, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni told parliament on Wednesday. “Italy will support … the creation of a European naval mission, in agreement and cooperation with the North […]
(AP) European Union countries on Wednesday overcame a major obstacle in their yearslong quest to overhaul the bloc’s asylum rules amid warnings that time is running out to clinch agreement on the entire scheme before next year’s EU elections. EU envoys clinched […]
(AFP) Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has admitted she had hoped to do “better” on controlling irregular migration, which has surged since her far-right party won historic elections a year ago. “Clearly we hoped for better on immigration, where we worked so […]
(AP) The Italian government approved new measures to crack down on migration Monday, after the southern island of Lampedusa was again overwhelmed by a wave of arrivals setting off from Tunisia and the migration issue returned to center stage in Europe with […]
(AP) EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pledged the swift return of “irregular” migrants to their home countries and a crackdown on the “brutal business” of migrant smuggling Sunday during a visit with Italy’s premier to a tiny fishing island overwhelmed […]
(Reuters) European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will travel to Lampedusa on Sunday, an official said, as dozens of the Italian island’s citizens protested over a recent surge in migrant arrivals. Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called on Friday for the […]
(Reuters) Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called on Friday for the European Union to act jointly “with a naval mission if necessary” to prevent migrants crossing the Mediterranean from North Africa. Meloni posted a video message on social media promising tough action […]
(AP) A flotilla of flimsy boats, crowded with migrants and launched from Tunisia, overwhelmed a tiny southern Italian island on Wednesday, taxing the coast guard’s capability to intercept the smugglers’ vessels and testing Premier Giorgia Meloni’s pledge to thwart irregular migration. Compounding […]
(Reuters) The Italian island of Lampedusa is struggling with a record number of landings from boat migrants, local officials said on Tuesday, describing the situation as “dramatic.” Lampedusa, Italy’s southernmost point and a first port of call for people crossing from North […]
(Euractiv) A new far-right list will contest the 2024 European elections in France, led by former MP Marion Maréchal, under the colours of Éric Zemmour’s party, Reconquête!. “We are going to make the European elections on 9 June [2024] a referendum on […]
(AP) More than 450 migrants reached Greece’s Aegean Sea islands in boats from Turkey in less than two days, Greek authorities said Thursday, including 51 people who made landfall on the high-end resort of Mykonos. The new arrivals come amid a steady […]
(AP) Italian police on Thursday took into custody in Pakistan a Pakistani man who is on trial in Italy for the murder of his daughter after she refused family demands to marry a cousin in their homeland. The court case, in Reggio […]
(Reuters) Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Monday she was convening a ministerial panel for national security to improve her government’s response to a surge in migrant arrivals. Italy has been struggling to accommodate arrivals from North Africa and the Balkans […]
(Euronews) Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni came to power in October last year promising a firmer grasp on immigration. But her efforts have not slowed the arrivals. More than 100,000 migrants have landed on Italian shores so far this year, according to […]
(AP) Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni on Sunday called for new, more equal relationships between Europe and migrants’ countries of origin and transit as she convened a summit of some 20 nations, EU officials and international organizations aimed at stanching flows of illegal […]
(AFP) Italy has invited Mediterranean countries to Rome on Sunday for an “international conference” aimed at extending an EU-backed deal with Tunisia to curb the arrival of migrants to European shores. Italy’s far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is expecting leaders from the […]
(Politico) Cash is king in the EU’s plan to stop migrants from coming to Europe. On Sunday, the EU finalized a deal with Tunisia — a common departure point for people seeking asylum in Europe — that essentially offers the country millions in exchange […]
(AFP) The European Union and Tunisia on Sunday signed a memorandum of understanding for a “strategic and comprehensive partnership” on irregular migration, economic development and renewable energy. The deal, which includes financial assistance, came as Tunisia has been under fire over its […]
(Reuters) Just as King Canute failed to hold back the seas, so Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has floundered in her efforts to stop the flow of migrants to Italy since she took office last October. Despite pledges before last year’s national election […]
(AP) The European Union should put a priority on stopping illegal migration instead of trying to persuade the 27 member nations to share responsibility for people who arrive without authorization, the prime ministers of Italy and Poland said Wednesday. Italy’s right-wing leader, […]
(Euractiv) The leader of the far-right party VOX, Santiago Abascal, indirectly accused radical Muslims living in the European Union of fuelling and masterminding recent rioting and looting in France. The French authorities are still on alert in Paris, although the sixth night […]
(Anadolu) A controversial law proposed by the ruling far-right coalition has again brought Muslims and their places of worship to the fore of Italy’s political discourse. If passed, the law could shut down hundreds of Islamic prayer spaces, a prospect triggering alarm […]
(ANSA) Opposition parties have blasted a bill presented by Premier Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing Brothers of Italy (FdI) party that would ban garages and industrial warehouses and facilities from being used as mosques. Among other things, the opposition parties have expressed doubts about […]
(Politico) Italy finally gave its blessing. Rome’s green light on Thursday evening unlocked a major deal to overhaul the EU’s asylum procedures for the first time in years after a grueling gathering of home affairs ministers in Luxembourg. “I wasn’t sure this […]
Thank you for reading Eye on Islamism.