Italy, Tunisia sign deal on migrant workers
ROME: Italy on Friday signed a deal to take in some 4,000 workers from Tunisia, in line with pledges to help the northern African state stem the pressure from migrants at its borders.
The deal was signed during a visit by Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani to Tunis, where he was scheduled to meet his counterpart Nabil Ammar and President Kais Saied, his office said.
It envisages regular migration channels for “qualified workers” willing to come to Italy, an Italian briefing note said as Rome also promised to help Tunisia in its efforts to stop migrant smugglers and create job opportunities for the young.
“Tunisia is exposed to strong migratory pressure, particularly from sub-saharan countries, and is the first country for repatriations from Italy,” the Italian document said, adding 1,615 migrants had returned there so far this year.
Sea migrant arrivals to Italy have almost doubled in 2023 compared to the same period in 2022, with around 140,000 people coming ashore so far. Some 91 per cent came from Tunisia, prompting Rome’s efforts to help local authorities to stem the flow.
Separately, Sweden’s right-wing government said on Friday it would make it harder for noneuropean immigrants to receive social benefits, saying it wanted to dissuade migrants from arriving, and beter integrate those who do.
Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson’s minority government came to power a year ago with -- for the first time -- backing from the far-right Sweden Democrats (SD). It has vowed to crack down on immigration and crime.
Sweden had previously taken in large numbers of immigrants since the 1990s, primarily from conflict-torn places including the former Yugoslavia, Syria, Afghanistan, Somalia, Iran and Iraq.
But it has struggled to integrate them. “Since 2012, more than 770,000 people have immigrated to Sweden from countries outside the European Union and European Economic Area (EEA),” the leaders of the three-party coalition and the far-right SD wrote in an opinion piece in newspaper Dagens Nyheter.
“Together with an integration policy that has made almost no demands (on immigrants) and provided no incentive to integrate into society, extensive immigration has created a divided Sweden,” they alleged.
The opinion piece pointed to “segregation, social exclusion, unemployment, poor school results and a lack of common Swedish values.”