Safe Countries decree becomes amendment, opposition outraged

By: ansa.it

Nov 01 2024
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Safe Countries decree becomes

(ANSAmed) - ROMA, 01 NOV - A new clash over migration policy has erupted between the Italian government and the opposition following the executive's decision to incorporate the Safe Countries decree into an amendment to the flow decree.
    The migration debate has now shifted to the Chamber of Deputies: the Safe Countries decree, currently under review in the Senate — which redefines the list of countries relevant to asylum seekers — will now be part of an amendment to the flow decree, scheduled for a Chamber review on November 21. This decision, announced after the Chamber's conference of group leaders on October 30, has infuriated the opposition.
    Opposition: 'Parliament, not the government, decides the rules' "The Safe Countries decree must be withdrawn by the government today; otherwise, if it exists, it should respect Parliament.
    The rules are set by Parliament, not the government. This move is trampling on the boundaries of the rule of law," said Senate Democratic Party (PD) leader Francesco Boccia, a statement supported by the Green and Left Alliance. "We have protested, demanding immediate hearings on the Safe Countries decree. La Russa has promised to encourage the Constitutional Affairs Committee to act." Roughly three hundred amendments have been submitted by groups to the flow decree currently under review by the Chamber's Constitutional Affairs Committee. "The decision is in no way intended to infringe on parliamentary prerogatives, but as the two measures are related and closely interconnected, we consider it appropriate that they be examined together," clarified Minister for Parliamentary Relations Luca Ciriani. However, the PD has decried this move as "procedural violence committed in the Constitutional Affairs Committee." Legal stalemate following migrants' return from Albania Regardless of the approval method, there is still no certainty that the Safe Countries provision, enacted after a ruling by Rome's court overturning the detention of migrants sent to Albania, will be decisive.
    Recently, the Bologna court referred the same government decree to the European Court of Justice, with the EU court's response potentially months away. Meanwhile, the government has mandated the State's Attorney to prepare counter-arguments for the European Court of Justice, and the Ministry of the Interior has lodged an appeal with the Court of Cassation against the non-validation of the detentions. Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi has announced that the government will proceed with expedited repatriation measures. The Italian Navy ship Libra, designated for migrant transfers to Albanian centers, remains docked in Messina awaiting the ministry's directives. Currently, the five Egyptians and seven Bangladeshis who returned from Albania remain in asylum-seeker status, pending a definitive ruling from the Italian authorities, which is not expected soon.
    (Picture shows Italy's Chamber of deputies, Rome, 30 ooctober 2024. PHOTO: ANSA/RICCARDO ANTIMIANI) (ANSAmed).