During the first three months of 2024, the flow of migrant arrivals in Friuli Venezia Giulia has halved compared to the same period in 2023, which "instead registered a record number of immigrants coming from the Balkan route," a regional commission said on April 22.

At the same time, in the first quarter of 2024, "at least 100 arrests" for suspected human smuggling were carried out mainly by police in the city of Trieste, followed by Gorizia and Udine, said a Friuli Venezia Giulia commission overseeing regional policies.

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'Suspension of Schengen agreement' influenced numbers, regional councilor

The figures were examined by regional councilors gathered to discuss the regional agenda under European programs for 2024.

The focus was on migration policies and the fight against human trafficking "to outline regional guidelines on which the future work of the European Commission can be addressed," according to a statement issued by the oversight commission.

The regional councilor for security and immigration, Pierpaolo Roberti, said the drop in migration flows recorded so far in 2024 is connected to the suspension of the Schengen agreement on free circulation in Europe.

The councilor also said that the regional government approved a regulation to support security forces patrolling borders with the purchase of adequate technology.

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Requests of opposition and majority coalition

Opposition members in the commission stressed the need to ask European authorities for more financial resources to provide adequate hosting to those arriving in Friuli Venezia Giulia.

Members of the majority coalition instead called for an agreement with EU member states to promote investments in countries with critical situations to stem the flow of arrivals while stressing the need for an acceleration in the redistribution of migrants across the country and region to guarantee adequate integration policies, the statement concluded.

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