Following the approval by the Council of Ministers of the immigration bill on February 11, opposition lawmakers have denounced a provision that would limit their inspection powers at Italy's Repatriation Centres (CPRs).
A reading of the draft immigration bill triggered a strong reaction from opposition parties, which identified among its 17 articles a measure that, at first glance, restricts parliamentary inspection powers by setting limits on unrestricted access to CPR facilities.
Calling it a "very serious" matter, the opposition urged immediate action, including the possible removal of the provision when the bill reaches Parliament, should there be no prior "step back" by the government.
The request was voiced in the Chamber of Deputies by the Democratic Party (PD), the Green and Left Alliance (AVS), the Five Star Movement (M5S), and MP Riccardo Magi, Secretary of +Europa, who was the first to raise his "astonishment" over the new rule.
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The Interior Ministry denies claims from opposition
According to the latest draft in circulation, the contested provision rewrites the rules governing visits to CPR facilities, stipulating that, among others, "members of the Government and of the national Parliament and their permanent staff assigned to their offices may access the centers without prior authorization, limited to the possibility of holding interviews with foreign nationals present in the centers who request them."
This, Magi said, would limit the rules currently in force under the 2022 Lamorgese directive, which provides for "access without authorization" to the centers by "members of the Government and of the national Parliament and those accompanying them for reasons related to their office."
Only through unrestricted access, he argued, "can we ascertain the actual conditions of detention." Allowing interviews solely upon migrants' request would be "unrealistic," Magi added, because "none of the CPR detainees knows which members of Parliament will be visiting."
However, the Interior Ministry stated that there is "no intervention" affecting parliamentary prerogatives and that the provision is intended to "clarify the issue of accompanying staff of individual MPs."
"A step back must be followed by a redrafting," Magi warned, arguing that "as written, it clearly concerns" MPs as well.
"Either the government does not know how to write in Italian, or it does not understand what it has written. Or perhaps, more simply, they tried and were caught," the +Europa secretary said ironically, calling the measure a "disgrace" that must be scrapped.
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Meloni calls for parliament to approve the package
Meanwhile, the center-right coalition is firmly defending the new crackdown on irregular immigration, describing it as fully "in line with European rules," as Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani stressed.
The Italian government has said the proposals contained within the bill would put an end to "the season of open doors and uncontrolled immigration pursued by the left," according to one of the thematic dossiers prepared by the research office of Brothers of Italy for lawmakers.
The government has already urged parliament to fast-track approval of the package, which also includes a six-month delegation to implement the new EU Pact on Migration and Asylum.
An initial appeal appears in the final communiqué of the Council of Ministers and was reiterated by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in a video message released several hours after the end of the February 11 cabinet meeting, shortly before midnight, in which she called on Parliament to approve the measures "swiftly," while challenging the opposition.
"Let us see how many of the political forces that go on television saying 'the government is not doing enough for security' will also be willing to help us guarantee it," Meloni said. Her party echoed the challenge in the Chamber, arguing that "after years of denial you have discovered the issue of security, let us see if you are ready," and calling for the bill to be immediately placed on the parliamentary calendar, pending authorization for transmission by the Quirinale, the office of the President in Italy.
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