A continent once widely skeptical of Giorgia Meloni now looks to the Italian prime minister for a solution to the problem of rampant mass migration in Europe.
A core tenet of Meloni’s 2022 campaign involved curbing illegal immigration flows to Italy.
Italian dissatisfaction with the crisis partially propelled Meloni’s political success, as mass waves of migration disproportionately affect the European Union border state.
Indeed, Italy’s southernmost tip, Lampedusa, more than earned its nickname as the “gateway to Europe.” In 2023, over 6,000 migrants entered the island in a single day.
The European Union’s so-called Dublin Regulation exacerbates the problem by requiring migrants to be processed in the first country they enter.
From 2023 to 2024, Meloni’s migration policies reduced sea crossings to Italy by an unprecedented 62%. Rather than reflecting a general decrease in migration flows, the reduction reflects the success of Italian policies.
Smugglers of humans have targeted other Mediterranean border states at alarming rates. Spain faced a migration increase of 155%, Greece a staggering 222%.
Meloni’s primary strategy involves outsourcing the processing of foreign nationals to North African nations. Italy established processing centers and facilitated returns to Albania, Libya, and Tunisia.
The Albanian deal allows Italy to disembark 36,000 migrants each year for processing at a center in Gjader, operating with Italian personnel with Italian jurisdiction.
Without the mobility and legal loopholes afforded by the European Union, Italian officials can enforce returns for illegal aliens and economic migrants. Italy also has invested in transit and origin nations in Africa to combat human smuggling, shifting responsibility for migration policies.
Meloni has focused on deterring migration throughout her administration, emphasizing the need to “stop people traffickers from having the choice of deciding who enters Italy.”
European leaders have hailed Meloni’s success since she took office in October 2022. For example, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen praised a deal with Tunisia in which Italy provided over 500 million euros for immediate liquid assets, renewable energy, and, most importantly, border management. Von der Leyen commended the deal as “out-of-the-box thinking, based on fair sharing of responsibilities with third countries.”
In September, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer met with Meloni to discuss immigration strategy, looking to fulfill his election promise to stifle criminal networks that spur migration to the United Kingdom. Starmer applauded Meloni’s success, noting her “remarkable progress” in addressing “drivers of migration.”
Similarly, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán cooperated in a recent meeting with Meloni to target illegal immigration, smuggling, and trafficking. The pair particularly focused on increasing and speeding returns from the European Union to safe countries of origin.
As hundreds of thousands of migrants have flocked to the European continent over the past decade, populations already there have grown more and more frustrated. European leaders increasingly will look to Meloni as Italian border deals prove successful, a trend that presents a clear opportunity for pragmatic conservatives on the continent.
Meloni has proudly proclaimed Italy to be a “model to follow” on migration.
Across Europe, leaders would be wise to rise to the standard she has set.