Speaking this week in question time at the Chamber of Deputies, the interior minister Matteo Piantedosi addressed migration topics ranging from the number of landings and repatriations of irregular immigrants and the results of the Government's policies on migration, including initiatives aimed at combating irregular migration and human trafficking, to the creation of migrant centers in Albania.

Piantedosi, commented the Italian left-leaning daily newspaper Il Manifesto, wanted to underline how successful his government's migration policies have been. He said that this year, the number of migrant arrivals was down 63 percent compared with 2023, and 20 percent fewer than 2022, before the current government took power.

Ministers from the current government have said repeatedly that the drop in migrant arrivals this year is partly due to cooperation between Italy and its North African partners, in particular Libya and Tunisia.

Mattei plan for Africa

The government's "Mattei" plan for Africa has also resulted in increased collaboration with other African countries, including Ivory Coast, said Piantedosi. This, he believes, has resulted in a decrease in arrivals from those territories.

For those who did arrive in Italy, the government has also increased the numbers of repatriations. Piantedosi told the chamber: "In the first six months of 2024, 9,000 assisted deportations have taken place, 5,111 from Libya and 3,800 from Tunisia."

He clarified that deportations have increased by 20 percent in the first six months of 2024, compared with the same period in 2023. In total, 3,080 migrants have been deported from Italy, Piantedosi said. The minister said the government's goal was to "effectively increase the number of deportations."

Costs of reception

Piantedosi was keen to point out that the high costs of reception for migrants had been inherited from the previous government, which he accused of allowing "massive and uncontrolled arrivals of migrants," despite the fact that more arrived in 2023 under Meloni's government than under Mario Draghi's legislature in 2022.

"The expenses for managing reception to date amount to 1.7 billion euros per year," said Piantedosi.

Piantedosi also told the right-leaning broadcaster Sky Italia that the costs of the centers for asylum seekers in Albania, which have yet to open, cost around 160 milllion euros per year, over a period of five years.

When questioned about the delayed opening of the Albanian centers, Piantedosi blamed the late opening on "technical problems linked tothe geological conditions of the area where they are building, which required extra checks and consolidation before the build could proceed."

The minister added that in addition, "a prolonged anomolous heat wave had also slowed down the rhythm of work, to make sure that all the workers on site could work safely," reported Sky Italia.

The Italian government hopes to make migration a central theme of the G7 meeting that will take place in Italy this autumn, Piantedosi told Sky. Italy has also made an effort to step up the number of arrests it is making of suspected migrant smugglers. Last year, the country made 128 arrests, this year, it has registered 144, he said.

Also read: Italy misses August 1 date for opening of Albanian reception centers