H.E. Mr. Giovanni Adorni Braccesi Chiassi:

I thank the Chairman. I am grateful for the opportunity to speak to the Joint Committee on European Union Affairs on the migrant crisis occurring in the southern Mediterranean and on Italian shores. I thank the committee for inviting me together with Mr. Peter Sutherland, Special Representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations for Migration and International Development, whom I have had the opportunity to follow constantly in the media these past days. Allow me to mention the particularly pertinent article of his which appeared in The Irish Times last Saturday. Mr. Sutherland is without doubt one of the greatest experts in matters concerning migration and knows full well the multiple facets that make the current situation a two-sided coin, whereby on the one hand Europe finds itself having to confront an astonishing flow of migrants while on the other it also must realise it will require a workforce as a result of its ever-growing ageing population. Ireland is perhaps the only country in Europe that does not have this immediate preoccupation to face. I am certain Mr. Brian Killoran, chief executive of the Immigrant Council of Ireland, will provide a whole series of relevant details of interest to the committee.

I would like members to convey my thanks to the Irish Government for the decision adopted on the occasion of the EU extraordinary summit in Brussels on migration to send a fully crewed ship to the Mediterranean, in the very near future, to work alongside the personnel of Operation Triton. Members might recall that last year, at the beginning of the semester of the Italian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, I had the opportunity to brief them on the main objectives and priorities of our Presidency. I quote what I said then:

For Italy, Europe must also become a place of the future, not only as an ideal border but also as a physical and geographical Europe. On the one hand, Europe must work to stop the tragedies of victims in the Mediterranean Sea caused by the difficulties in countries of northern Africa, particularly Libya, through the Frontex operation. On the other hand, Europe must overturn its approach and demonstrate that it is an active protagonist in the economic framework and, above all, in the human context.

Just a few days before that, in the offices of the Taoiseach, on the occasion of the Italian Presidency briefing to European Movement Ireland, I illustrated the priorities of the Italian Presidency. There was a focus on a stronger role for Europe in the Mediterranean in order to prevent the increasing tragedies in that sea. However, that was at the beginning of the summer of 2014 and the problem has become much worse since then.

Italy’s geopolitical role and location make it a leading player in this struggle. Our rescue and patrolling efforts have saved thousands of lives. We witness the horror of overcrowding and decrepit trafficking vessels sinking in the Mediterranean, drowning their passengers. These boats represent only the end point of massive illegal migration flows that are run by brutal organised crime networks. When migrants are rescued from these boats, we discover they are not only from African countries such as Nigeria, Senegal, Ethiopia, Mali and Eritrea but also from Syria and Iraq, where brutal civil and religious wars are raging, and from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh, to quote only those countries with the greatest numbers of migrants.

As stated by the Italian Prime Minister, Mr. Renzi, Italy’s contempt for this unfolding drama goes beyond our role in operations. Human trafficking tramples on the values and riches that our sea has contributed to civilisation. Millennia ago, our ancestors lived amongst those shores, celebrating the diversity, richness and fullness of their identities. Italy and its culture are largely the product of these values and of the labour they spurred. My country will not turn a blind eye to this history. Italy will not allow these principles to be defeated.

Following the tragedy in September 2013 on the coast of Lampedusa, Italy initiated Operation Mare Nostrum with the support of the European Union, but bearing the bulk of the weight on its own shoulders. Operation Mare Nostrum, at a cost of over €100 million, saw Italy rescue and assist approximately 170,000 migrants, who arrived mainly from the Libyan coasts. We must not forget that, at that same time, more than 700 persons were arrested on the charge of human trafficking. Unfortunately, only one in four boats used during the crossings was destroyed.

Mare Nostrum saw units of the Italian military marine patrol the Sicilian Channel, on the edge of Libyan territorial waters. The criticism laid at Italy’s door by some political leaders of the European Union and by public opinion was that these operations so close to the coast of Libya were an incentive for migrants to leave that country. Mare Nostrum was mainly a search-and-rescue operation. It was suspended last November and replaced by Operation Triton, under the supervision of Frontex and which was designed primarily to choke off smugglers. Funding for the latter operation was tripled on the occasion of last Thursday's summit in Brussels, when it was also decided to study a series of other measures. By contrast with previous operations, both naval vessels and aircraft from several European countries will be involved in this operation. We thank our European friends and partners for this. The units involved will operate on the edge of Italian territorial waters making it more difficult for decrepit boats and dinghies to make the crossing and will act as a disincentive, in some way, to their departure. However, are we sure of this? In 2013, it is calculated that there were approximately 1,500 recorded deaths in that stretch of sea. In 2014, there were over 3,500, and at the beginning of this year there have already been over 1,500. The summer season is still ahead of us and it is the time when the greatest number of migrant crossings takes place. This is compounded by the fact that since the beginning of the year, Italy has rescued and assisted over 30,000 persons. As both Mr. Sutherland and Mr. Killoran will surely relate, the situation is very difficult and it is not easy to find solutions. Many issues must be faced by all the countries of the European Union, such as the distribution of migrants who cannot be accommodated in only some of the 28 countries of the Union. Allow me to refer to a few figures which speak for themselves. In 2014, four countries in Europe accepted the greatest number of asylum requests: Germany, approximately 200,000; Sweden, over 81,000; Italy, over 64,000; and France, over 60,000. It is surprising that a country such as Hungary, with a population of only 10 million, has accepted over 40,000 requests whereas the United Kingdom, a country with over 64 million inhabitants, has accepted just over 30,000.

I am sad and astonished that an agreement was not reached last Thursday in Brussels to relocate even 5,000 of the recently arrived migrants. If this number were to be divided equally among the 28 member states, it would mean only 172 migrants per country.

This is only one aspect of the problem. A series of extremely complex responses are being studied to best tackle it in its complexity. As committee members well know, most of the people who arrive in Italy do not intend to remain there and they state this openly in the many media interviews which committee members will have had occasion to see in recent days. I say the responses are complex because in a very complex region, Libya presents a crucial challenge. At least 90% of the migrants reaching Italian soil pass through that country. Libya is prey not only to endemic instability but also to international terrorism. Islamic State operates there, adding to the chaos of civil war.

If we are to intervene in Libya to create reception centres and shelters for migrants, and to destroy unseaworthy trafficking vessels taking care not to affect fishing boats, we can only do so under the umbrella of the United Nations and with the agreement of the Libyan authorities, which does not exist at this time. The presence yesterday in the Sicilian Channel of the Secretary General of the UN, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, with the Prime Minister, Mr. Renzi, and the EU High Representative, Mr. Mogherini, is a positive signal. Other measures could be the revision of the Dublin regulation to improve the burden-sharing of costs and responsibilities and freeze the assets derived from trafficking, in a way similar to what was done in the case of the Somali pirates.

Italy is open to any suggestion and it will not fail to shoulder its responsibilities as a country with a sea border with Libya, but it is best not to forget this is not just a national border but a European border, shared by Spain, Greece and Malta. It is therefore a problem which, given the biblical proportions of the size and the speed of the exodus of migrants, requires a response that can only be European. As stated by the Italian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Paolo Gentiloni, we cannot have a European emergency with an Italian answer. I thank the committee for its attention.