By: V4 Agency
The Italian upper house Friday night, passed the government’s new migration measures which repeal laws enacted under former Interior Minister Matteo Salvini back in 2018. The current decree was passed by the senate with 153 votes in favour, two against, and opposition parties abstaining.
The upper house of the Italian parliament on Friday night voted to accept the new migration measures of the centre-left government which in effect repeal the laws passed a year and a half ago at the initiative of former Interior Minister Matteo Salvini. Yesterday’s decree was passed by the senate with 153 votes in favour, two against, and opposition parties not voting.
After the vote, Deputy Interior Minister Matteo Mauri said that migration regulations linked to Salvini have been repealed and that Italy would “…start a new chapter, handling migration in accordance with international law.”
Former Interior Minister Matteo Salvini commented on the senate’s decision, “Human traffickers are now celebrating.” The head of the Lega (League) Party also explained that by opening ports to everyone, the government would no longer discriminate between real refugees and economic immigrants, and is also opening its doors to dangerous terrorists. He announced that once the coronavirus emergency ends, a referendum would be held as soon as possible on the restoration of the previous strict migration regulations.
The decree includes a number of points of relief for migrants, with a particular emphasis on their acceptance and integration. From now on, migrants arriving at Italian shores will near automatically be considered asylum seekers with entitlement to health care and official entry into the social security system. Italian language classes and vocational training will be supported, as well as job seeking assistance. Furthermore, the normal 48-month-long citizenship application process for foreigners living and working in Italy has been cut by half. The ceiling on the number of economic migrants accepted has been stricken and sanctions against civilian ships carrying migrants have been relaxed.
Representatives of the opposition parties – the Lega (League), the Fratelli d’Italia (Brothers of Italy) and Forza Italia (Go Italy) composing the center-right coalition – refused to vote in protest and instead displayed a banner declaring ammendments to the Migration Act a disgrace.
While last year more than 11,000 migrants reached Italian shores, this year the number is three times that. Under Salvini’s now reversed migration restrictions, the number of migrants arriving ashore and drowning at sea fell significantly.