British Prime Minister Keir Starmer traveled to Rome on 16 September 2024 to hold talks with his Italian counterpart, Giorgia Meloni, on strategies to combat illegal immigration. This meeting comes the day after another tragic shipwreck in the English Channel, which claimed the lives of eight migrants, bringing the number of deaths this year to 46.
Starmer, who rejected the previous Conservative government’s controversial plan to deport migrants to Rwanda, has expressed interest in the Italian approach. Meloni, who heads the far-right Fratelli d’Italia party, signed an agreement with Albania in November 2023 to set up migrant reception centres on Albanian soil, a solution that has allowed Italy to significantly reduce sea arrivals.
During his visit to the National Coordination Centre on Migration in Rome, Starmer said he wanted to understand how this reduction had been achieved. He stressed the importance of acting upstream, in the migrants' countries of origin, in order to prevent departures.
Hours before the meeting, London announced the creation of an elite command to secure its borders, a campaign promise by the Labor leader, who is facing major riots in the country. The violence, which broke out shortly after his election in July 2024, mainly targeted mosques and migrant shelters.
Despite the drop in arrivals in Italy, the deal with Albania has drawn criticism, particularly from within the Labour Party. MP Kim Johnson denounced Starmer as “seeking lessons from a neo-fascist government”, referring to Meloni’s political orientation. On the other hand, Matteo Piantedosi, Italy’s interior minister, welcomed the British prime minister’s interest in the “Italian model”.
The agreement between Italy and Albania provides for the opening of two migrant centres capable of hosting up to 3.000 people. Asylum seekers will be housed in Albania while their applications are being processed, and those whose applications are rejected will be sent back to their country of origin.
However, despite these agreements, some organisations such as the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) believe that the reduction in migration flows cannot be attributed to a single cause. Many migrants have simply changed their route to enter Europe, notably via West Africa or the EU's eastern land borders, which have seen a sharp increase in illegal crossings.
So, while Italy and the UK seek to strengthen their cooperation in the fight against illegal immigration, criticism remains, both about the effectiveness of the measures taken and their humanitarian implications.
