IEMed. Mediterranean Yearbook 2014 312 Strategic Sectors | Culture and Society Panorama rias n 03 wih a epnnil growth exponential saw in the second half of in the which year, was partially due to increase the 2013, This in Puglia. arrivals extent, lesser a to and, of coasts the on landings with Syria, and Turkey, 9,000), (about from arrivals in Greece , although significant increases were registered from out set (27,000) them of half than More coast. Italian the reached people 43,000 some 2013, In stability ofthesecountries’ governments. in the now, to and, fickleness the to first, exposure, heavy their account into take to failed have years, the of the over that, countries agreements Mediterranean, Southern the with signed has ments agree migratory the by imposed limitations the and rings; trafficking and smuggling the of fessionalism pro the destinations; natural two other the Cyprus, and of appeal scant the become; has that Libya hub migratory extraordinary the to particular, proximity to key countries of origin and transit and, in the flows: migratory trans-Mediterranean of nation desti main the is – Islands Pelagie the particular, in and, – Italy that reasons well-known several, are There Europe bysea,withItalyastheprimarydestination. to flows mixed for channel leading the as status its confirmed arrivals, 43,000 approximately saw which In 2013, the central Mediterranean migratory route, Largest MaritimeGatewaytoEurope The CentralMediterraneanRoute: Centro StudiPolitica Internazionale(CeSPI), Rome Researcher Lorenzo Coslovi The CaseofLampedusa Mixed Flows attheBordersof Europe: Strategic Sectors| Panorama 3 rranean Sea. 2 1 EstimatesbytheItalianCouncilforRefugees (CIR). According to the classification by Frontex, this route refers to irregular migration from Northern towards Italy and Malta across the Medite- ThisarticlewasfinalisedbeforeApril 2014(Editor’snote). 1 Culture andSociety 2 - - - -

As a result of these geographical origins, about 70% of and (1,000). than 3,000 Egypt Somalis), (2,600), (2,300) more and Eritreans 10,000 (nearly Africa of Horn the years: earlier in as same the are origin of tries coun main other The Morsi. President of ouster the teriorating conditions for refugees in Egypt following secondary movements of Syrian refugees resulting the from the de and crisis Syrian the of worsening just days after Italy was strongly reprimanded by the by reprimanded strongly was Italy after days just occurred which tragedy, October the of result a As The DebateinItaly trated onitssouthernborders. concen death and despair of burden the towards gaze Europe’s redirected and consciences turbed dis have island), the of coast the off dead (366 ber , and, especially, the accident of 3 Octo in migrants by received treatment degrading the on of the year, the dissemination of audiovisual material course the over arrivals in increase The borders. nal exter EU’s the at flows mixed by posed challenges and contradictions the for crossroads symbolic and geographical a and year, the over arrivals 15,000 to as both the main port of entry, having received close In this context, Lampedusa has once again emerged llenge fortheItalianreceptionandprotectionsystem. who nors undeniably (3,818), constitute a greater cha- minors (around and, 8,000), among of them, unaccompanied mi number high the to drawn be also should protection. international for apply to ments require the fulfilled 2013 in arrived who people the 3 Attention Attention ------

the debate over the existing proposals (reducing the However, 2014. for agenda the on all are centres expulsion and identification at stay the of length the governing rules the and system reception the form re to measures the legislation, the of revision The same lineasthatfollowedbythepreviousexecutive. the in continued internally have cooperation, external migratory policy – were limited and, at least in terms of of aspects certain political on views different very of with forces up made – government current coalition the grand by introduced measures the However, safe arrivalofrefugeesandasylumseekers. the enable channels”that “humanitarian test to need the iv) and rights; fundamental refugees’ and grants’ mi of respect full the for provide they that all, for and once ensure, to Libya) (including departure and gin ori of countries the with signed agreements peration coo- the rethink to need the iii) package”; “security so-called the by introduced amendments the pecially es law, immigration country’s the revise to need the ii) there; held migrants the of dignity the of violations repeated the and centres reception the at conditions are once again on display in the form of the deplorable – improvements recent despite – limits macroscopic whose system, reception the reform to need urgent the i) discussion: under points main four are There sive debateinbothItaliansocietyandpolitics. exten and intense of subject the become have tem sys management mixed-flow the of points key the Europe, of Council the of Assembly Parliamentary on itssouthernborders of despairanddeathconcentrated Europe’s gazetowardstheburden consciences andredirected October, havedisturbed especially, theaccidentof3 and, migrants inLampedusa, degrading treatmentreceivedby of audiovisualmaterialonthe course oftheyear, thedissemination The increaseinarrivalsoverthe sponsible forcarryingthemout. re body the CIR, – Refugees for Council Italian the with Tripoli’scollaborate by to blocked refusal been have centres detention the improving at 4 Indeed, it should be noted that, while the component involving training of the Libyan security forces has already been initiated, the actions aimed ------

treatment metedouttomigrantsinthatcountry. tap”the the to attention much paying without Libya in “shutting on focus to continue intentions, official any beyond and above which, – centres) detention grant mi of modernisation the for support and authorities the Libyan for training provide (to project SAHARA-MED of launching the and Group Italo-Libyan Level series of initiatives a – e.g., the establishment through of a High- Libya with agreements its renew to Italy tried 2013, over cooperation, migratory of terms In new legislativeelections. ences that could be exacerbated by the possibility of differ including branch, executive the up make that be to hampered by the heterogeneity likely of the political forces is centres) reception of management tection, and reviewing the tender procedures for the pro international of recognition the for committees territorial of number the increasing months, two to maximum stay at identification and expulsion centres lice) andMinistryoftheInterior/nationalpolice). army, and control of migratory flows (the navy, coast management guard, the in involved authorities national of range wide a involves and units (helicopter) airforce and naval various includes operation the October, 18 on Launched Frontex. by actions future for lines guide the set should view, government’s Italian the 6,000 people in the last quarter of 2013 and that, in than more of rescue and interception the enabled tion Mare Nostrum, a rescue and control system that opera humanitarian and military the of plementation The first objective has been pursued through the im the EUtohandlecrisisofarrivals. by involvement greater requested has Italy location, geographical its to only due Italy for sailing seekers asylum of up made largely were flows incoming the as time, same the At sea. at life human preserving migration with the even more important obligation of irregular controlling of demands the reconcile to ity faced an urgent need to assure Europe of its capac has Italy Lampedusa, in tragedy the of wake the In Lampedusa IsEurope guardia di finanza di guardia (Italy’s tax and customs po customs and tax (Italy’s 4 ------

IEMed. Mediterranean Yearbook 2014 313 Strategic Sectors | Culture and Society Panorama IEMed. Mediterranean Yearbook 2014 314 Strategic Sectors | Culture and Society Panorama its political and operational agenda with a renewed a with agenda operational and political its include the to Mediterranean dimension of Brussels migration on pressured has Italy time, same the At Appointment inJune2014 means alasting,long-termsolution. no by is and temporary be only can operation the involved, personnel and the resources of and number large cost high its to was due it However, when launched. government Italian the by assumed tion of trafficking networks, thereby fulfilling the tasks persecu criminal the cases, few a in and, migrants of thousands of rescue the enabled undeniably has mechanism Nostrum Mare the of deployment the concerns, these of legitimacy the Notwithstanding means alasting,long-termsolution can onlybetemporaryandisbyno networks. However, theoperation criminal persecutionoftrafficking migrants and,inafewcases,the of enabled therescueofthousands Nostrum mechanism hasundeniably The deploymentoftheMare customer baseandthenumberofvoyagesmade. their both increase to organisations criminal enabling of encouraging migrants to cross the sea and, thus, of effect the have could coast, Libyan the off kilometres quences. The visibility of the Mare Nostrum unit, mere revolved conse has unintended possible operation’s criticism the around main the States, Member certain also and society, Italian of segments other In cape routes. es refugees’ blocking at exclusively aimed Libya, with cooperation the through policy, a of sumption re the and Mediterranean the of militarisation the towards step another yet as launch operation’s the and certain European governments. The former view society civil Italian of sectors certain among fusion The launch of Mare Nostrum has caused some con ie b te ae f mto ta floe the followed some found that demands Italian the October, of events emotion of wave the by Aided spirit ofsharedresponsibility andsolidarity. - - - - - in therun-uptothismajorevent. serve as the guidelines and objectives to be pursued should countries) third with cooperation and Eu rope; to avenues legal protection, reinforced and regional resettlement trafficking; human and gling smug against fight solidarity; and assistance lance; surveil (border Force Task the by drafted posals pro The Europe. by responsibility of assumption an confirms nevertheless decisions, actual any delay to serving sense certain a in while Convention, the Dublin and asylum of issue thorny the including tion, migra to approach European the of review general a to 2014 June of Council the dedicate to mitment meetings of both October and December. The com Council European the by issue migratory the to ed devot attention the in and Eurosur, of launch timely the Mediterranean, TaskForce the of establishment the with 2013, October 23 of resolution Parliament European the in concern of consensus a and echo regard to the level of autonomy to be assigned to the with particular in – develops Eurosur and Frontex of depend on how the debate on the mandate and role largely will it regard, this In trafficking). human and smuggling against fight the and surveillance border countries, third with (cooperation off pull to cated those areas of intervention that are the most compli ception of asylum seekers and refugees, above all in re and rescue the to with immigration irregular control need the reconcile to hope they how and ders bor external their of management the in solidarity and responsibility shared of principle the apply to plan States Member the and Europe how determine to possible it make will June in meeting Council The ticipation of Slovenia in the Mare Nostrum operation. par the and million) €30 (about funds traordinary ex of granting the of form the took essentially and limited was involvement Europe’s arrivals, in crease in great the of light in foregoing, the of all Despite Europe assumption ofresponsibilityby to migrationconfirmsan review oftheEuropeanapproach Council ofJune2014toageneral The commitmenttodedicatethe ------including the events of 11 October off the coast of Malta, in which hundreds of people lost their lives, the rescue and salvaging mechanism has mechanism salvaging and rescue the lives, their lost people of hundreds which in Malta, of coast the off October 11 of events the including occasions, other On 2012.) February 23 (2012) 075 ECHR - Italy v. Others and Jamaa Hirsi Rights, Human of Court European (See: Libya. to 5 thegreater given part, in at least request, justified a EU, the from support for demand Italy’s to thority Lampedusa of au greater image lend would refugees, “overflowing” with the than more much This, in. takes country the people the of rights damental the Italian response and to better safeguard the fun characterised has start, the from that, logic gency emer the overcome to both possible it make nally fi would integration and reception of system tional na efficient and effective an of implementation The departure arethetwomainareasofintervention. and origin of countries the with approach operation ception system and the rethinking of the re bilateral co the of reform the coasts, Italian the reach who beneficiaries of international protection among those potential of number large the Given reforms. urgent In the lead-up to June, Italy should implement various Getting DowntoWork the EU. protected entry and the relocation of refugees within commitment of level achieved the as a result of the testing of on programmes for and – rights mental ness Eurosur’s full potential when it comes to funda agency and the measures to be implemented to har volvement inrescueoperationscould helptoreducetheweightoftheseobstacles. in their of result a as losses financial suffer who fishermen for fund guarantee a of establishment safety.The own crew’s the to pose can it risks quences of doing so (suspension of the fishing licence, as potential well accidents as during the rescue operations, and the transfer of migrants), 6 been calledintoquestionbynewspapers. (See,forexample: The willingness of fishermen to participate in rescue and salvaging operations may be negatively impacted by the possible economic conse economic possible the by impacted negatively be may operations salvaging and rescue in participate to fishermen of willingness The sea at intercepted nationality Somalian and Eritrean of migrants numerous returned Italy when 2009, of events the to referring Weprimarily are G atti , F. “LaveritàsulnaufragiodiLampedusa,” ------nue rae rset o mgat’ fundamental migrants’ for respect greater ensure These measures would make it possible not only to guity, butthatisalsoincreasinglyindispensable. certainly complex and liable to a heavy dose of ambi is that measure a countries, third in systems gration inte and reception the of strengthening and motion pro the include to expanded be could cooperation the framework, this Within refugees. and seekers asylum for programmes entry protected and ment resettle in participation and countries, home their to return their on migrants of reintegration the for support mobility, legal of promotion the on founded control of Parliament. This new cooperation must be complete the under and conventions, international for respect full of framework a within transparency, of origin and departure in accordance with a logic of countries the with cooperation its resume must Italy Likewise, without forgetting the control requirement, pared toarrivalsmadeacrosslandborders. com sea by arrivals managing in involved burden man lifeatsea. of commitment and dedication to safeguarding hu events serious extremely certain notwithstanding – men fisher and authorities state i.e., members, primary whose unit, rescue and search Italian the by of fered opportunity the waste to not also but rights, 5 and obstacles and 6 – stand out for their level their for out stand – L’espresso, 8November2013.) ------

IEMed. Mediterranean Yearbook 2014 315 Strategic Sectors | Culture and Society Panorama