Meloni and Sunak united on migration, support deal with Tunisia

(Patria) - UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak welcomed Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's approach to tackling illegal migration on Saturday, during a visit to Rome where they agreed to co-finance a project to help migrants return home from Tunisia, AFP reported.

They held official talks in the Prime Minister's office, and the leader of the British Conservatives also gave a speech at a rally of the far-right Brothers of Italy party. They promised to stop migrant boats from landing on their countries' shores, and in his speech, Sunak welcomed the willingness of both sides to "depart from the consensus".

Earlier, they faced sharp criticism for their policies, from Sunak's plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda, to Meloni's move to restrict the activities of charitable rescue ships in the Mediterranean.

At the meeting, Sunak and Meloni agreed to finance a project to assist with the repatriation of migrants to Tunisia, the country of departure for many migrants trying to reach Europe. They "committed to co-financing a project to promote and assist the voluntary return of migrants from Tunisia to their countries of origin," Downing Street said. Giorgia Meloni's office said this would be in line with existing UN projects, without providing further details.

Sunak and Meloni have established a good relationship since they both took office in October 2022, and he on Saturday praised her "conviction and determination". He compared her to former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and said they needed some of the "radicalism" of the Iron Lady to tackle mass migration.

"If we don't tackle this problem, the numbers will only grow. It will overwhelm our countries and our capacity to help those who actually need our help the most," he said.

At the meeting, they agreed to step up efforts to combat human traffickers, but Sunak said deterrence was also key. "Making that deterrence credible means doing things differently, departing from the consensus. And both Giorgia and I are prepared to do that," he said.

He cited the agreement with Albania reached a year ago, under which Albanians arriving in the UK by small boats across the Channel can be immediately returned.

Since then, the number of Albanians arriving in the UK has fallen by 90 percent, Sunak said.

Meloni last month agreed a deal with Albania to build two centres in the country to house asylum seekers picked up at sea by the Italian coast guard. That agreement has drawn criticism in both countries, and Albania's Constitutional Court has temporarily blocked its ratification by lawmakers.

Sunak and Meloni also met on Saturday with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, who himself addressed a conference in Atreju, saying he was "convinced" the deal with Italy would be realised.