Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her Danish counterpart, Mette Frederiksen, published a joint statement this Monday in which they reject “uncontrolled immigration” and call for repatriation centers in third countries.
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“We understand that many may question our collaboration. We come from very different political positions and, of course, we do not agree on everything. We are the only two women heads of government in the EU. One of us leads a large southern country; the other, a small northern country. But we are united by our desire to defend Europe.”, begins the note published on Meloni’s social media.
Both state: “We do not accept uncontrolled immigration to Europe and have promoted a strict immigration policy, both in our countries and in Europe.”
Italy introduced controls at airports and ports for travelers coming from Spain after what happened in Ceuta and later the Spanish Government, faced with Italy’s refusal to lift them, imposed the same measure for those arriving from Italy.
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The leaders assert that “no one can deny the negative consequences of illegal immigration”
The leaders assert that “no one can deny the negative consequences of illegal immigration in our societies: increased crime rates, growing pressure on public services, and erosion of public trust.”
And they add that this situation “is especially serious when illegal immigrants, deprived of the right to remain in our countries, commit violent crimes, traffic drugs, or are responsible for sexual violence.”
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Therefore, they explain that their duty is “to provide concrete responses to citizens, especially the most vulnerable, and to ensure greater security and protection for our communities.”
And they call for the establishment of “repatriation centers in third countries, as well as other innovative solutions outside Europe,” a project that Italy has already carried out in Albania and is now considering in some African countries.
They also assert that “respect for our laws must go hand in hand with respect for European values. This applies both to irregular immigrants and to the millions of foreign citizens who legally reside in our countries and throughout Europe.”
“We are both proud of Europe’s Christian cultural heritage and want to protect it. We hope that those who come to our countries and choose Europe as their home respect our values and do not try to impose ways of life that we do not share,” they state.
For both leaders, “this is the right way to protect Europe and our common values.”
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