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Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni published a joint statement with the Danish Premier Mette Frederiksen on Monday, confirming their united front in the fight against “uncontrolled migration”, vowing to “protect” Europe’s Christian cultural heritage.
The statement notes that the two are the only female leaders of European governments and, despite coming from different political backgrounds and geographical realities, are united by a shared commitment to defending Europe.
“We do not accept uncontrolled immigration into Europe, and we have promoted a rigorous migration policy, both in our own countries and across Europe,” Meloni said in a Facebook post.
“No one can deny the negative impacts of illegal immigration on our societies: rising crime rates, increasing pressure on public services and an erosion of public trust. It is particularly serious when illegal migrants, who have no right to remain in our countries, commit violent crimes, traffic drugs or are responsible for sexual violence,” the post reads.
Frederiksen and Meloni have recently emerged as the EU’s most vocal advocates for a tougher migration policy, notably since the crisis in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, which saw tens of thousands of irregular migrants crossing the border within hours.
In response, Italy and Denmark led an open letter to the EU institutions, signed by a total of 22 member states, calling for coordinated action to combat illegal migration, strengthen external borders and address so-called “pull factors.”
For the two leaders, ordinary citizens have paid too high a price for uncontrolled migration for too long — a tougher approach to migrants who have committed serious crimes, they argue, means greater security and protection for communities.
“So what more can we do? We need to set up repatriation centres in third countries, as well as other innovative solutions outside Europe. We are working hard on this,” the post reads, referring to return hubs, an approach Italy has been trialling in Albania and that was recently written into a controversial EU law.
“But this is not enough. Compliance with our laws must go hand in hand with respect for European values. This applies to irregular migrants, but also to the millions of foreign nationals living legally in our countries and across Europe,” the statement adds.
For the two prime ministers, the migration issue ultimately comes down to respect for Europe’s Christian cultural heritage and shared values, which both vowed to defend.