Tuesday

19th Mar 2024

Merkel, Renzi agree basics of Africa plan

  • Angela Merkel and Matteo Renzi met in Rome on 5 May. (Photo: Palazzo Chigi)

German chancellor Angela Merkel said she supports an Italian plan on stemming migration flows from Africa, but disagrees on how it should be financed.

EU leaders flocked to Rome on Thursday (5 May) for a debate on the state of Europe.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

Italy’s prime minister Matteo Renzi took the opportunity to meet with Merkel and push for his solutions to the migration situation.

Ever since Turkey helped to seal the Aegean passage to Greece, Italy has become the principal country of arrival for migrants. Almost 29 000 people have crossed the Mediterranean since the beginning of the year.

Renzi’s plan is to discourage future flows with a ”migration compact" - a well-financed European effort to help grow African economies. In exchange, African states would cooperate better with the EU on border management and security.

The idea was well received by Merkel. She said €1 billion should be devoted to a long-term EU response to the exodus of people fleeing poverty and conflict.

But the German chancellor was not convinced that the idea could be financed by common eurobonds, as Renzi had suggested.

"If we concentrate on the European budget, we will find [money]," she said.

Renzi said that Italy is ”not in love” with eurobonds and won’t insist on a specific form of financing the proposal.

"We are in love with the idea that the migration compact can help Africa" he said.

He also secured Merkel’s support in an ongoing border confrontation between Italy and Austria.

Many migrants travel to other countries after reaching Italian shores. In order to stop them from coming, Austria’s government would like to impose checks at the Brenner pass that connects the two countries in the Alps.

Building walls inside the EU is not a response, Merkel said.

"Europe must defend the Schengen Agreement or risk falling back into separate nationalism. The very future of Europe is at stake," she told journalists.

”We must remain loyal to one another.”

On Friday, EU leaders meet with pope Francis who will receive the so called Charlemagne prize for his efforts to keep Europe united.

The Argentinian pontiff has previously criticised EU leaders for not doing enough to help people fleeing wars.

Feature

Renzi's chance to act like a grown-up

With other EU states busy on internal issues, the Italian PM sees a chance to push his vision of Europe. Friday's Papal visit by EU leaders will showcase the new Renzi.

Lampedusa in the Alps

In the last few days, migrants have been forced off trains and stranded near the Italian-Austrian border in a situation dubbed ”Lampedusa in the Alps”.

Does Italy need €14bn of EU budget waivers?

The EU Commission has agreed to relax Italy’s deficit targets. That could help Renzi ahead of this week's local elections and in a later referendum on constitutional reforms.

Analysis

Election in sight, EU mood music changes on offshoring asylum

Designating a country like Rwanda as 'safe' under EU rules to send an asylum-seeker there requires strict conditions to be met first. But a backdoor clause introduced into EU legislation allows a future commission to strip out those requirements.

Latest News

  1. Borrell: 'Israel provoking famine', urges more aid access
  2. Europol: Israel-Gaza galvanising Jihadist recruitment in Europe
  3. EU to agree Israeli-settler blacklist, Borrell says
  4. EU ministers keen to use Russian profits for Ukraine ammo
  5. Call to change EIB defence spending rules hits scepticism
  6. Potential legal avenues to prosecute Navalny's killers
  7. EU summit, Gaza, Ukraine, reforms in focus this WEEK
  8. The present and future dystopia of political micro-targeting ads

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us