Libya and immigration became a problem concerning the G-7. On Italian initiative, the issue of Libyan instability was put on the table of the seven biggest world powers gathered in Brussels, without Russia, to discuss about Ukraine and energy above all. The Italian PM, Matteo Renzi, has talked about the issue, particularly important for Italy, during the talks about foreign policy matters. The stabilisation of the North-African country would also mean curbing the migration wave, preventing boats full of migrants from leaving the Libyan coasts towards Italy. “The situation is critical yet not irreversible,” said Renzi to his partners from the US, Canada, Japan, France, Germany and the UK. “It is important for us to revitalise the Libyan political process of national reconciliation,” said the Italian representative, who asked for and obtained a commitment from the G-7 for supporting the UN decisions for the stabilisation of the country.
Thus the G-7 decided the National Electoral Commission would be supported for calling national elections on 25 June. This is a step the G-7 considered “key” to the building of a stable and democratic Libya. “The construction of a free and democratic Libya will play a crucial role in the promotion of regional stability,” as the G-7 statement reads. The leaders have also called for the “continuation” of the efforts of promoting the political dialogue in the country, as well as of organising the elections within the end of the month. “These are vital elections for the upswing of the Libyan political process.” The G-7 has then decided its line, and Italy can go back home with an important result: the widening of the international attention towards the immigration issue, after the involvement of the European Union.
The EU in fact has decided to start a vast operation of monitoring the Mediterranean sea, in order to intercept migrants’ ships and counteract the phenomenon of irregular and illegal landings (that is, trade of human beings most of the cases). This is why Frontex, the European Union Agency for border patrolling, will be reinforced. Frontex denounced that during the first four months of 2014 the flow of migrants increased by 823 percent towards Italy, compared with 2013. From January to April 2014 in fact, 25,650 new arrivals were registered in Sicily and 660 in Puglia and Calabria. A phenomenon set to continue.
