“Migration is a European challenge that requires a European response.” Ursula von der Leyen extends a hand to Italy in the difficult political game of managing the flows of asylum seekers. The president of the European Commission, in Palermo for the inauguration of the city’s university academic year, offers the country and its government full availability in a negotiation still in progress. In her words, you espouse an approach that is precisely that of the majority, the same one brought to Brussels by the Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, on the occasion of the summit of heads of state and government at the beginning of the month. For a topic that is always hot and never disappeared from the twelve-star agenda, the message that von der Leyen decides to send is that of a Europe alongside her member state and her founder. “I will do my best to achieve the goal: a European system that best serves Sicily and all of Europe”. A solemn promise, that of von der Leyen, who chooses the audience of the University of Palermo to also address the other 26 member countries. “Europe must extend its solidarity to all Member States and local communities”, starting with the Sicilian one, at the forefront of managing the phenomenon. Because, she acknowledges, on the island “for years you have welcomed countless people who land on your shores”.
On behalf of the EU executive, von der Leyen welcomes the efforts made so far. He cites as a virtuous «example», in humanitarian and management terms, «the humanitarian corridors created right here, in Sicily, by religious associations and local communities». A model reality, as a “safe alternative for those fleeing war, a model that the European Union can support”. Von der Leyen is therefore keen to make it clear that, despite what one might perceive, Italy is not alone and can count on Europe. Of course, the agreements for a new immigration and asylum pact and a real reform of the Dublin Treaty, the set of rules governing the common reception system, will have to be sought and found in the Council, the representative institution of the Member States which has always been divided and hesitant especially as regards the redistribution of those arriving on the Italian and Sicilian coasts. But for the president of the Commission it appeared important to reaffirm support for the boot. “Migration is a European challenge that requires a European response” is not a casual passage in von der Leyen’s speech, because it is the passage that Italy wanted to include in the conclusion of the leaders’ summit to relaunch the debate. A phrase that Meloni herself claimed as a success of the government action.
Speaking of successes, von der Leyen also underlines the way and speed with which Italy has been able to free itself from dependence on Gazprom. An exemplary result in terms of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and the need for decisive responses to the Kremlin’s military operations. “Italy has reduced its imports of Russian gas by two thirds, in record time.” Now the President of the European Commission is asking Italy to write another success story. «You urgently need to accelerate the transition to renewable energies produced internally». In Brussels, Sicily is viewed with high expectations, due to its potential. “This island has plenty of sun and wind, it also has a solid industrial base in the cleantech sector.” The suggestion is clear: to make the island region of the South an economic, national and European pole. The main condition is the good use, quickly, of the resources made available through NextGenerationEU, the post-pandemic recovery program which includes the Recovery Fund and its resources. «Sicily is crucial for the energy transition», articulates von der Leyen in what is resounding as a new call for reforms and investments.