Nicholas Farrell has narrated this article for you to listen to.
Giorgia Meloni, Italy’s first female Prime Minister, has this week achieved what the Tories failed so fatally to do with their doomed Rwanda scheme. Thanks to her determination and charm, Italy has become the first European nation to successfully offshore illegal migrants to a non-EU country.
However bogus the claims of migrants, once they’re in the EU it’s virtually impossible to deport them
Under Meloni’s scheme, migrants picked up by Italian naval and coastguard vessels from small boats in the Sicilian Channel will be ferried directly to Albania, 750 miles away. They will not set foot in Italy. It is potentially a game-changer, particularly as voter fury across Europe forces politicians to do something to stop illegal migrants.
The plan is now operative, and on Wednesday the Italian ship Libra docked in the Albanian port of Shengjin to disembark the first migrants destined for what Meloni’s critics compare to Nazi concentration camps.
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in