Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome on Tuesday to discuss cooperation on irregular migration, with the two leaders sharing similar views on the need for a new approach.

Tuesday’s meeting focused mainly on asylum and migration, also given the European Council in June, where migration issues are high on the agenda.

There are many challenges Austria and Italy “have to face together”, such as the security of energy supply, Nehammer said in a joint press conference that followed the meeting in which he also praised the “trusting and very friendly conversation”.

“Moreover, Italy and Austria are linked by a truly sustainable alliance. An alliance when it comes to the fight against illegal migration,” Nehammer also said, noting that this would also concern the fight against human traffickers who “exploit people’s suffering”.

“We both suffer from strong migratory pressure and intend to cooperate more. Together we have called for a paradigm shift to defend our external borders”, Meloni said.

“With Austria, assiduous cooperation is essential, both bilaterally and in the European forum. We often have the same line, the same vision. A feeling has been created of which I am very happy”, the Italian prime minister added.

With migration back on the EU agenda, support for the countries that protect the EU’s external borders is important – particularly those, like Italy, that are currently particularly burdened by migration flows – Nehammer added.

Indeed, Italy declared a six-month state of emergency on 11 April after it saw an unexpected rise in migrants crossing the border. While 31,292 crossed into Italy from January to 11 April, numbers were much lower in 2022 and 2021 as arrivals respectively reached 7,928 and 8,505 during the same period, Interior Ministry data reads.

Praising Denmark’s tough stance

During the joint press conference, Meloni also emphasised that irregular migration affects both Austria and Italy and said it is necessary to follow Denmark’s example and ensure migrants are less inclined to try and come.

“The asylum system in Europe has failed. We need new agreements, we need new methods, we need new asylum procedures in safe third countries,” Nehammer stressed, also naming Denmark as a positive example in the fight against irregular migration.

The Austrian chancellor visited Copenhagen and Stockholm in April to bolster coordination with Nordic like-minded countries. He plans to reduce Austria’s appeal by decreasing social support payments during the first years migrants are in Austria – mirroring Denmark’s policies.

The two leaders are also looking towards Africa with interest – both for energy supplies and to make deals with countries from which migrants depart.

“We are facing great challenges: the certainty of energy supply, peace, and relations with Africa. And it is all the more important to cooperate with Italy, it is crucial,” Nehammer said.

Agreement on the Stability and Growth Pact

Regarding the EU Stability and Growth Pact, which is currently in talks for reform, Meloni said she shared the same vision as Nehammer.

According to her, reform must consider the new geopolitical order, disrupted first by the pandemic and then by the war in Ukraine.

“We talked about how Europe must work to ensure security in the economic sphere as well. The pandemic and the Russian war of aggression have changed the scenario, and this can not be taken into account when we go to define the new rules of the stability pact”, Meloni said.

“With respect to the Commission’s proposal, we think that investments cannot be disregarded for this”, and “it would be a short-sighted choice to talk about green digital transition and then disregard investments,” she added.

(Chiara Swaton | EURACTIV.de, Federica Pascale | EURACTIV.it)

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