The Independent: Why Italy's deal for migrants in a third country like Albania doesn't work for the British

The Independent / Keir Starmer's visit to the Italian Prime Minister has a certain touristic atmosphere. "Such fantastic weather," he said.

Like any curious Englishman on holiday who wants to explore the stunning Dolomites, the ancient wonders of Pompeii or simply spend a few weeks at their charming second home in Puglia, the British Prime Minister has descended on Rome for a guided tour of the Italian government. The policy of "illegal immigration".

Starmer is "interested to learn" all about how they have radically reduced irregular arrivals on Italian territory - usually at the island outpost of Lampedusa, off the North African coast.

Starmer's host, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, leads a neo-fascist political party and must be one of the most likable leaders in the world, because that apparently makes no difference to those who meet her.

She was a favorite of Rishi Sunak, whose politics were slightly more progressive;

As Meloni notes the salient features of politics and its intricacies, Starmer may find himself equally impressed but also disappointed by what he finds, for Italian politics does not transfer easily to the English Channel – and if it did, we can be sure that Sunak would have done this while he still had the chance.

Just as Rome is not London, the Mediterranean Sea is not the English Channel. The distances are much greater and international politics are very different. The main reason why the Italians have managed to cut the number of migrants by more than half – Mediterranean boat crossings are down 62 per cent from last year – is that they have essentially taken control of the Tunisian and Libyan border patrols, re-equipping and finding local staff as needed. It's a bit neo-colonial, but it seems to have succeeded.

The UK will not be given the same role on the French coast – despite British Border Force officials enjoying observer status in some operations and £60m-plus in subsidies being transferred from London to Paris.

Similarly, the idea that we can simply pick up migrants and send them back to Calais is one of the most persistent and damaging myths in the entire migration debate. Things could be better if we stayed in the EU and kept the Dublin Protocol, which facilitated some returns and was a basis for cooperation; but that's all academic now and there's no sign that Starmer's reinstatement will make a difference.

The Albanian dimension is also something that Starmer, accompanied by his new border commander, Martin Hewitt, wants to learn. Taking people from, say, Iran to be processed in a third country, such as Albania, has the attraction that it does not mean they will be forced to settle there, even if their application is valid and valid. accepted. The Italian system means that genuine refugees are then returned from Albania to Italy and accepted for residence, according to the European Convention.

It could be a mild setback for those thinking of returning to Tehran. But if most of them are genuine, then they don't get on the plane to Iran and irregular migration doesn't decrease. And if they are false, then they will have an additional incentive to arrive in mainland Italy secretly, and, by analogy, it is much easier to do this if you only need to go from France to England.

Italy spends many millions building and running huge immigration detention centers – an option that successive British governments have been unwilling or unable to fund. So in trying to copy or learn from Mellon's policies, brilliant as they may be, Starmer is running for nothing.

The measures Meloni has taken to curb new arrivals are well-suited to Italy's geography and its particular needs, and something it is prepared to spend money on – and without having to leave the European Convention on Human Rights of Man to do so. Britain, out of the EU and struggling, must find its own solutions to the small ship crisis.

The inescapable truth is that small boats must be dealt with under the ECHR and international law, and this leaves little alternative but to honor the solemn obligation to accept refugees, to let them work (building houses would be a beginning). fill the labor shortage and boost the economy and society in general.

If the British Labor Party really wants to abandon the principle of providing asylum to asylum seekers, it should say so. If not, Starmer and his colleagues should stop pretending they can solve the crisis by copying the Italians, or anyone else.