Cautious migration stance could be warning sign for Italian officials on other fronts

2 hours ago by: James Politi in Rome

When Emmanuel Macron first hosted Paolo Gentiloni, Italy’s centre-left prime minister, at the Elysée Palace in late May, France’s youthful pro-EU president suggested a shift towards more aid and understanding for Rome as it handles thousands of migrants arriving in its ports every week.

“We have not listened enough to Italy’s cry for help on the migration crisis,” Mr Macron said.

But two months later, Italian officials say that Mr Macron’s stance on migration is little changed from the rigid, closed-door approach of his predecessor François Hollande — triggering some frustration in Rome. “After saying they understand our problem, it doesn’t seem like France wants to help us concretely,” said Mario Giro, Italy’s deputy foreign minister.

Disappointment with Mr Macron is beginning to set in, Mr Giro added. “We need more solidarity in the management of migration, not just compared to our expectations but his own words.”

Mr Macron’s ascent to the presidency over far-right rival Marine Le Pen was greeted with relief and hope in many parts of the EU, especially in Italy, and was seen as a chance to revitalise the bloc through deeper integration and a reformist agenda.

But the fact that frustration with Mr Macron is already emerging in Rome bodes poorly for those expectations, especially given Italy’s size, relative economic weakness and vulnerability to rising populism. A general election is due in Italy in early 2018. Global Insight Italy’s right rehearses for potential return to centre stage Left and populists ahead in polls but Berlusconi waits in wings for comeback

There are several reasons for the dimming hopes on migration — French police are still refusing entry to hundreds of migrants camped out in Ventimiglia, on the Italian side of the border; France is far from meeting the quota of refugees agreed under an EU relocation scheme in 2015; and Paris will not allow French vessels carrying migrants rescued in the Mediterranean Sea dock in its ports. The boats dock in Italian ones instead.

Mr Macron has also spoken of the need to distinguish between refugees and economic migrants. Given that the majority of Italy’s new arrivals come from countries suffering from hunger and poverty but not necessarily war, this approach does not necessarily help Rome.

Meanwhile, progress on longer-term policies has slowed or stalled. These include the renegotiation of EU asylum rules that work to the detriment of Rome and the funnelling of more investment to the countries in sub-Saharan

Africa that are the main sources of immigration to Italy. Many have strong cultural, military and economic ties to France. “Africa is a key test for Macron. We will see if he is a nationalist with a European vocation or if he is really interested in building a European policy, full stop,” says Lia Quartapelle, a lawmaker on the foreign affairs committee of the lower house of parliament from the ruling Democratic party.

Two former Italian prime ministers have weighed in this month. Romano Prodi, the former president of the European Commission, said he had felt “wounded” by Mr Macron’s approach to migration. Enrico Letta, now a dean at the Sciences Po university in Paris, accused France, along with Austria and Spain, of doing “irrevocable damage” to Europe by refusing to take in more migrants.

Some Italian officials concede that the early enthusiasm for Mr Macron was probably exaggerated and that some of the expectations of him, particularly on migration, have been unrealistic. “Anyone who elevated Macron into such a myth was being foolish,” says one Italian official.

But Mr Macron’s cautious migration stance could be a warning sign for Italian officials on other fronts, too.

On eurozone economic policy, in particular, Rome sees Mr Macron as a pivotal ally. Detailed talks are not expected to begin until after the German election in September. But even if France and Italy are broadly aligned in wanting to push Germany towards greater fiscal and budgetary union, and burden sharing, the concern is that the French president could still strike a deal with Berlin that leaves Rome sidelined. Africa is a key test for Macron. We will see if he is a nationalist with a European vocation

Italy’s burgeoning, Eurosceptic opposition has already sought to seize on Mr Macron’s migration policies as a sign that there was little to gain for Italy in his victory.

Luigi Di Maio, the Five Star Movement politician who is the populist party’s likely candidate for prime minister at the next election, travelled to Ventimiglia on Bastille Day, the French national holiday, last week to attack French border policies. “If this had been the work of Marine Le Pen, and I would not defend her ideas, all of Europe would have called it xenophobia, but Macron does it and nobody takes a strong position against France,” Mr Di Maio said.

In Rome, the feeling is that they are not asking for much from Mr Macron and that a few bold steps could go a long way towards defusing populist tensions and tackling a huge humanitarian crisis at their doorstep.

“We are not asking France to open all the doors. Macron can prove his pro-Europeanism simply by following through on the commitments they have already made,” says Ms Quartapelle. “There’s an EU agenda on migration and we are asking Macron to stick to it.”