Kenneth Glad
European governments continue to wrestle with migration, integration and questions of cultural identity. A new political statement shows how leaders from different traditions are able to find common ground on some of those issues.
Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni have issued a joint statement calling for tighter migration controls and stronger protection of Europe’s Christian cultural heritage.
According to Danish broadcaster DR, they said people who settle in European countries should respect European values as well as national laws. They said that expectation should apply both to irregular migrants and to foreigners living legally in Europe.
The two prime ministers come from different political traditions. Frederiksen leads Denmark’s Social Democrats, while Meloni heads the right-wing Brothers of Italy party.
Migration shapes their cooperation
Frederiksen has acknowledged that she and Meloni disagree on several political issues. Migration, however, has become one of the areas where their positions overlap most clearly, giving the two leaders a basis for continued cooperation despite their different ideological backgrounds.
As reported by DR, Frederiksen argued that illegal migration has contributed to crime, increased pressure on welfare systems and lower public trust.
The pair also backed broader use of deportation for criminal foreign nationals and continued efforts to move parts of Europe’s migration system outside the continent.
Their position includes support for solutions involving third countries, which they see as part of a wider attempt to reduce irregular arrivals and strengthen control over migration into Europe.
Existing proposals return
According to DR’s account, the statement did not introduce major new proposals. Frederiksen and Meloni instead returned to measures they have backed before, including reception centers and return centers in third countries as part of a stricter approach to migration management.
In the statement, they claimed they had helped shift Europe’s approach to deporting criminal foreign nationals under the European Convention on Human Rights. They presented that as evidence that tougher policies can be pursued while remaining within the continent’s legal framework.
Their cooperation was also on display last week, when they sent a joint letter to EU leaders after increased migration from Morocco to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta.
DR political analyst Rikke Gjøl Mansø said the message seemed aimed in part at European voters who already share the two leaders’ views. She said it offered little in the way of new policy, but strengthened their profile as supporters of stricter migration rules.
Source: DR
