Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi is considering confiscating the ships of migrant taxi NGOs as part of a new security decree aimed at reducing the number of illegal migrants arriving in Italy.
Interior Minister Piantedosi is said to be preparing a new security decree to take on the issue of illegal immigration that will revolve around certain key areas, including the activities of migrant taxi NGO vessels picking up migrants in the Mediterranean Sea.
Part of the new decree, which has yet to be drafted, is expected to concern administrative action and sanctions against NGO ships that refuse to carry out the orders of Italian authorities, one of which could include the confiscation of vessels rather than criminal proceedings, Il Giornale reports.
In prior years, Italy has confiscated ships belonging to taxi NGOs, including the Mare Jonio in 2019, and a vessel belonging to the Spanish NGO Proactiva Open Arms in 2018. The Mare Jonio was later released in February 2020, however, after an appeal by the NGO Mediterranea Saving Humans, who operated the ship.
So far this year, migrant taxi NGOs have picked up at least 10,000 migrants in the Mediterranean and brought them to Italy, a large share of the overall number of illegal arrivals, which stands at just over 90,000 according to UNHCR statistics.
Minister Pinatedosi’s new decree is also expected to oblige NGO ships to be able to accommodate migrants for long periods so that Italiana authorities can board the ships and identify those who are legitimate refugees and those who are not.
Another part of the decree will involve agreements with countries in Africa to construct refugee camps to help identify migrants before they depart as well as provide a mechanism for deportations.
In the longer term, Italy is expected to spearhead a new ‘Marshall Plan’ for Africa that will look to invest in the continent to prevent migrants from wanting to make the dangerous journey to Europe.
Similar plans have been proposed previously by various figures, including former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in 2018. Berlusconi, who now serves as a Senator, is a coalition ally of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and members of his party, Forza Italia, serve in the Meloni cabinet.