Migration in the Central Mediterranean: EU and Italian Actions

The Mediterranean Sea, the southern border of the European Union, is the home where European culture and history have their roots, as well as those of some of the most important current member states such as Spain, Italy, Greece, etc. Today, Europe is facing an increasing issue of challenges that threaten the European Constitutional System as we know it. One of them, which has the Mediterranean countries as protagonists, is the management of the migratory waves trying to reach the continent from the North African states. Among the various migratory routes that cross the Mediterranean, a sea that crosses multiple states of diverse political, economic or social nature, this article will focus on the central one.

The central Mediterranean route to Europe is one of the most dangerous, making it one of the deadliest geographical areas in terms of migration. It extends from Libya and Tunisia, and reaches Italy at the islands of Lampedusa and Sicily, the first entrance points into the European Union for migration attempting to reach its territory.

The issue of irregular crossings on this route in 2024 has been marked by a significant reduction in activity compared to previous years. Nevertheless, the importance of the central Mediterranean is vital: agreement to the European Frontex Agency, the central Mediterranean route accounted for half of the estimated 232,350 'irregular border crossings' into the EU in 2023.

The existence of uncontrolled irregular migratory flows often leads to great human losses. As a sample this, in the case of the central route, the International Organization for Migration estimates that, between 2014 and 2020, more than twenty thousand migrants would have lost their lives trying to reach the Italian coasts. Moreover, according to the project 'Missing Migrants'of the same organization, the annual issue of deaths and disappearances of migrants in the Mediterranean rose from 1,048 in 2021 to 2,411 in 2022 and reached 3,041 by the end of 2023.

From Libya and Tunisia

The main ports of departure on the central route to Italy are located in both Libya and Tunisia. In the first case, since the death of Muammar Muhamad Abu-Minyar el-Qaddafi, who put an end to the dictatorial regime that ruled the country for forty years, the country has been experiencing an institutional and political crisis resulting from two civil wars and multiple unstable governments that have been unable to reach a minimum political consensus and open a path towards economic development .  

The absence of a state power capable of guaranteeing the most basic needs of the population makes Libya an ideal breeding ground for mafias to easily develop their illegal migration operations. Thus, for example, one of the great advantages that these gangs or criminal networks find is that of migrant detention camps, where, thanks to systemic corruption in the various police, civil and military bodies, they can exercise almost absolute power that allows them to control these camps and organize departures to the Italian coasts with impunity.

In 2022, the Libyan authorities announced the closure of Al-Mabani, one of the most representative camps in the country. In it, the militias that controlled it ran a large trade in extortion and blackmail of migrants from all over Africa who arrived in Libya to take the last step towards Europe, demanding a price for their departure from the camp. Various sources have reported the mistreatment in these detention centers where multiple episodes of starvation, sexual violence and murders have been recorded.

One of the last and most serious crises in which the consequences of mass migration from North Africa - especially Libya and Tunisia - were clearly seen was that of the summer of 2023 in Lampedusa, the small Italian island off the coast of Tunisia, where various humanitarian and identification tasks are carried out prior to the transfer to Sicily or other centers on the Italian peninsula. Between September 12 and 14 of that year, more than 7,000 immigrants arrived on the island, whose population is barely 6,000. 

EU management

The European Union is concerned about human trafficking along this route. One of the lines of action, both of the Union and of its member states, has been goal the Libyan coast guard, with the purpose of giving it the capacity to assume a more relevant and important role in the management of irregular migratory flows. Thus, in early 2017, Italy signed a memorandum of understanding with Libya, renewed on February 2, 2020, by virtue of which the European country intensified its relationship with the Libyan coast guard, to which it provided material, financial and human financial aid . Meanwhile, in the case of the EU, actions and projects for such purpose accounted between 2016 and 2019 for more than 226 million euros, out of the 467 million that, according to the Commission, the EU invested in cooperation programs in Libya.

Among the objectives of this funding was the training training the Coast Guard to take manager rescue operations, as well as the establishment of a SAR (Search and Rescue) Zone in which to carry out rescue functions (surveillance, communication, search, coordination and rescue).

Another line of action of the EU is aimed at promoting peace and stability in Libya. In agreement with it, in the framework of the Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP), on March 31, 2020, the EU launched the EUNAVFOR MED military operation 'Irini'. This operation, recently updated and extended until March 2025 by the European committee , is consistent with UN Security committee Resolution 2733, which extended for one year the arms embargo imposed since 2011 on Libyan territory by Resolution 1970, and which prohibits UN member states from supplying, selling or directly transferring any subject of military equipment or tool , whether acting degree scroll their own or through regional organizations.

Among the objectives of operation 'Irini' are to monitor and collect information on illicit exports of crude oil and refined petroleum products from Libya, and to contribute to the dismantling of the business model of smuggling and human trafficking networks through intelligence gathering and air patrols. The Italian Armed Forces have an important specific weight in this mission statement, which was initially supported by an Italian commander, Admiral Stefano Turchetto, as well as by the support of headquarters located in Rome.

The results so far of this operation seem to be poor, due to the lack of coordination and support among the member countries, as well as the reluctance of the European partners to provide military material.

Meloni redeems Albania

The recent creation of theEU-Egypt Strategic and Global association is perhaps the most representative example of Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni's vision of how to manage migration. The association was created in the context of the increase in March 2024 in immigration into the EU of Egyptians attempting to cross the Libyan border into Europe, and is consistent with the European intention to provide financial attendance to control migratory flows. The association foresees an amount of 7.4 billion euros to help boost the faltering Egyptian Economics and prevent another migration crisis in Europe. According to the agreement, the Egyptian state will assume a more proactive role in the management of migratory movements.

Below the level of the European Union, the discussion of immigration is intense within its member states, and incorporates multiple opinions due to the political fragmentation inherent to European democratic systems. The status the Mediterranean has led in recent years to the rise of conservative movements skeptical of the traditional parties of the European political establishment, largely driven by popular dissatisfaction with the handling of immigration and the perception of many citizens of a security crisis.

In the case of Italy, the arrival of Meloni, an opponent of EU migration policies, to the Italian government, has had a direct impact on Italy's approach to the problem, and exerts a B on European institutions in the formulation of migration policies. The great weight of migration arriving in Italy using the central Mediterranean route has made the leader of the Italian party Brothers of Italy one of the most prominent figures and reference points of the European anti-immigration movement.

Meloni has spoken out on several occasions in the past in favor of the idea of carrying out development programs and economic attendance to the African continent as a tool to avoid possible massive arrivals of irregular migratory waves and to cooperate in the strengthening of African states and their institutions. In this line, the Italian Prime Minister has even accused France of practicing a monetary and geopolitical neo-colonialism in its former African possessions that does not allow the free development of its peoples.

A new measure that the Italian government adopted together with the Albanian government in November 2023 in order to alleviate migratory pressure, as well as the possible impacts on its territory of the decontrol originating from massive waves of immigration, is the creation in Albania of asylum processing centers for migrants and refugees. These facilities, financed entirely by Italy, are planned to accommodate migrants rescued from the Mediterranean Sea while their asylum applications are examined within 28 days. The facilities have a first structure in the port of Shengjin to carry out identification procedures. The agreement includes the subsequent transfer of migrants to Gjader, to a first reception center with 880 places for asylum seekers; those whose application are rejected must await repatriation in an attachment center with 144 places. It should be noted that these centers are exclusively for adult males.

The measure, however, has encountered a major obstacle posed by the Italian judiciary. In October 2024, the Rome Court ordered the return to Italy of twelve migrants held in the Albanian centers, arguing that both Egypt and Bangladesh, the countries of origin of these migrants, could not be qualified as 'safe' and that the migrants could therefore not be returned. It further argued that their detentions "were not validated" according to "principles binding on national judges", referring to a ruling of the European Court of Justice, which on October 4 already called into question the basis of the Italy-Albania pact.

Open Arms-Salvini

The complexity of the treatment of the problem of irregular immigration can also be seen in another of the countless migratory crises suffered by Italy, and which had as its protagonist its current Minister of Infrastructure, Matteo Salvini. The event dates back to August 2019, when the then Interior Minister prevented a ship of the Spanish NGO Open Arms with 147 migrants saved in the central Mediterranean area from docking in Italian ports. The wait at sea lasted 20 days, a period in which 64 people were allowed to entrance for medical reasons, and culminated with the intervention of the Italian Justice ordering the disembarkation of the remaining 83.

The Italian Public Prosecutor's Office requested a six-year prison sentence for the former Minister of the Interior, accused of the crimes of kidnapping of persons and abuse of power for the events described above. Faced with this accusation, Salvini defended that his decision and movements throughout this crisis were goal at forcing a status limit that would favor the conclusion of a fair immigration sharing pact between the European Union states, as well as defending Italy's borders and its sovereignty. Finally, the Italian politician was acquitted in December 2024 by the Court of Palermo.

Measures such as these correspond to a change of orientation and political sensitivity on illegal immigration that comes from within the European constitutional system, as well as from the executives of its member states. This transformation has accelerated since the President of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, urged EU member states in a letter on October 15 to seek more innovative solutions on returns and the fight against illegal immigration. It should be added that Von der Leyen urged to "draw lessons" from the " internshipexperience" of the agreement between Italy and Albania, in spite of the criticism it has raised among the Italian civil service examination , as well as in other member states which, like Spain, strongly reject this subject of practices.

Considerations

Several aspects of the above-mentioned issues may be the subject of reflection. First of all, it should be pointed out that certain non-traditional political actors such as NGOs can, through their actions, exert an important influence on the institutional policy of states, as in sample case of Italy, the EU's third largest Economics . Within the sphere of the central Mediterranean, the actions of Open Arms often have a strong influence on public opinion directed at the actions of the executives.

Another major topic of discussion arising from the Open Arms case is the possible incompatibility between the traditional concept of state sovereignty and the human rights of migrants, to whose respect European countries, as well as the European Union as a whole, are fully committed.

In conclusion, as has been analyzed, the Mediterranean, the natural border separating the European Union from Africa, is a space where diverse geopolitical interests converge. The ideological movement that is taking place in the European Union towards new positions and methods in the management of immigration, which may result in more restrictive measures, or in an increase in the externalization of migratory management towards countries of departure, may lead to new opportunities and situations to which we have not yet been subjected.

Within the zero-sum game in which international relations are increasingly involved, it is essential for the EU to take the lead in the reconstruction of states such as Libya for reasons of solidarity with their peoples, as well as for its commitment to the defense of human rights; also because of the influence that instability and internal crises in the territories of origin can have on European security. The EU's response to the problem of uncontrolled migration could involve the strengthening and reorganization of the various strategies mentioned above, and the exploration of new areas of action.