H.E. Mr. Giovanni Adorni Braccesi Chiassi:

As I mentioned previously, it is a very complex problem. In 2011, we were aware that helping the Libyan Arab spring might have caused a lot of problems. We have known the reality of Libya for decades. Libya was an apparently stable country under Colonel Gaddafi but following the destruction of our consulate-general in Benghazi a few years ago, we became aware that there was a very big difference between different tribes in Libya. We were very sceptical about the NATO intervention in Libya. Our impression was that first, there was no "plan B" if something went wrong. Second, it was a very difficult situation because Libya is not a united country. The result is before our eyes.

Something is happening because our prime minister was able to call for a European summit at very short notice. Extraordinary summits are very rare in Europe and have happened on only a few occasions. It was accepted that this is something positive. Of course, it is such a complex problem, as was highlighted by Mr. Sutherland, there are political refugees and those looking for jobs and there is the role of national public opinion. There are many people in Italy who are not happy at all with the large numbers of refugees and who want to send them back to Libya, which is not a solution. The UN Secretary General has come to see what is going on and the way the operation is going ahead. Measures are being undertaken to set up camps in Egypt and on the borders of Libya and other African countries to examine the demands. I know that Morocco and Spain and Morocco and Senegal have done quite a good job in this regard to exert better control over those people.

The Dublin regulation must be reviewed because it does not make sense that the countries which first receive all those people must take them all. The burden must be shared. A process is underway that must also take public opinion into consideration but I think there is a change in public opinion. These tragedies had been happening for months but suddenly everyone woke up a few days ago. We must maintain a significant focus. It cannot be a case of focusing on one thing until a new crisis comes along and we forget the first thing and have to wait for another boat with hundreds of people to sink. There is a first response and the issue is very complex. We would like to see a government installed in Libya with which we can talk.

That is one of the big tasks for the United Nations and the special representative and we will do our best. In Italy we have a special sensibility due in part to the fact that it is a country which, like Ireland, has exported its people for decades or centuries. It is a complex phenomenon. Italians are coming to Ireland because Italy is facing a difficult economic problem. We know that the people arriving in Italy do not want to stay there because they will not find jobs and many of them have relatives in France or Germany. We can try to keep them, but they will do everything they can to reach these countries. What is going to happen then? Some of them are going to be accepted, while the police will bring others back to Italy. It is not the solution, but there is more sensibility and concern about this issue at European level. Our Prime Minister who is facing a difficult internal problem in introducing reforms while leading a government that enjoys only a slight majority is keeping it in focus and will try to convince our European partners to share the burden.