Migrant arrivals to Italy have doubled, however the development is reducing, the Federal Government stated this week.

On the finish of a cupboard assembly and one of many Interministerial Committee for Safety, the federal government took inventory of the migration “emergency” that the nation is experiencing and tried to make clear what the figures launched imply.

“There may be an indisputable fact about migrants: for the reason that starting of the yr to Aug. 28, a 103% improve was seen in arrivals through sea in contrast with the identical interval of final yr,” Undersecretary to the Presidency Alfredo Mantovano stated.

Nevertheless the “numbers ought to be interpreted”, he added. Even if these numbers “are objectively worrisome, they can not however present the dynamics of the arrivals themselves, which reached a peak within the month of Might after which decreased,” Mantovano stated.

For comparability: In Might, recorded arrivals from Tunisia have been +1008% in comparison with final yr. Now they’re +386%. On the Libya route, the rise was +167% in Might and is now +13%, the undersecretary defined.

Inside minister praises collaboration with Tunisia

Italy’s inside minister Matteo Piantedosi has stated that these numbers give hope.

“We now have over the course of the yr seen a rise of 329% in migrant arrivals, a determine that has dropped to 103%. This reveals that there was a drop within the progress curve and we discover this encouraging.”

He claimed that collaboration with Tunisia has stored folks from departing — “43,000 folks,” he stated, “+171% in contrast with the earlier yr. The work that Tunisia has achieved is vital,” he added.

The minister introduced that “there will likely be fixed contact with the federal government [the reference is to the meetings of the Interministerial Committee for Security of the Republic, which starting in late August will become regular, Ed.] and we are going to proceed on this course regardless that the numbers are nonetheless very vital together with as issues reception.”

Summer time of latest document highs, ‘unsustainable’

This summer time of record-high migrant arrivals has in the meantime reached a brand new peak.

On August 26, when 55 boats arrived, some 3,042 migrants have been recorded as arriving in Italian territory through sea. This was the very best quantity in 2023, whereas in the identical interval of final yr there had been 443 migrants.

Lampedusa, which had in as of late seen over 4,300 migrant presences on the identical time, continues to undergo overcrowding regardless of ceaseless transfers.

There are one other 818 migrants within the disembarking and pre-identification are of Porto Empedocle within the Sicilian metropolis of Agrigento.

On the Naples port, 254 migrants have disembarked from the Ocean Viking NGO humanitarian rescue ship, together with 37 unaccompanied minors.

After an alarm launched by the Nationwide Affiliation of Italian Municipalities (ANCI) some days in the past, the most recent warning has come from Turin mayor Stefano Lo Russo.

“It’s ineffective to disclaim it, the scenario is actually very difficult even right here. Turin helps out with this kind of politics however it’s clear that over the long run it’s unsustainable. It is a matter on which,” he added, “it’s essential to open direct talks with the federal government. Partially as a result of the connection with prefects, who do crucial work, is one among collaboration however over time can not final. It’s essential to think about other ways,” Lo Russo stated.

Hotspots ‘a bandaid’, Lombardy has most migrants

The Italian inside minister in the meantime assured the mayor of Italy’s northeastern metropolis Trieste that 200 migrants will likely be despatched away from the town.

The governor of the Friuli area and the president of the Convention of the Areas, Massimiliano Fedriga, additionally commented on the emergency.

“Hotspots are a bandaid and never an answer. Nevertheless, I choose a hotspot — which at the least takes folks away from the territory — to widespread reception,” he stated.

On the problem of reception, Lombardy is the area with the most important presence of migrants, adopted by Emilia Romagna, Sicily (on which the presence of hotspots weighs), Piedmont, Lazio and Campania, Tuscany, Veneto, and Puglia. This was proven by statistics offered each 15 days by the federal government. The most recent date launched was on August 15.

In numbers: Migrants hosted in Italian areas

There are 13,724 migrants within the Lombardy area in reception facilities and three,090 in integration and reception facilities (SAI), for a complete of 16,814.

Within the Emilia Romagna area there are 9,387 and three,185 respectively, for a complete of 12,572.

There are over 10,000 migrants within the Lazio and Campania areas of the nation as properly.

As of July 31, Sicily was the area with the most important variety of migrants in SAI facilities: 5,332.

General, the full variety of migrants acquired within the nation mid-month was 132,796, together with 34,761 by the SAI system.

On the political degree, the federal government is getting ready to introduce a safety decree in September with new measures to hurry up the repatriation of irregular migrants who’ve engaged in violent or harmful behaviours, probably by offering extra powers to prefects and police superintendents.

The federal government additionally plans to construct extra repatriation facilities, whereas current ones may have their features totally restored.

Creator: Lorenzo Attianese