Starmer seeks lessons from Italian plan to process migrants abroad – BNN Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) — Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he is looking to Italy for lessons on how to tackle the flow of migrants in small boats to Britain’s south coast.

Speaking after a bilateral meeting and working lunch with his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni in Rome, Starmer indicated he would be watching to see how Italy’s planned new programme to process asylum seekers in Albania pans out. He also told reporters in the Italian capital that he was “very interested” in measures Meloni has taken upstream in migrants’ countries of origin, which have reduced arrivals to Italy “quite significantly”.

“We are pragmatists first and foremost: when we see a challenge, we discuss with our friends and allies the different approaches that are being taken and look at what works,” Starmer said. “I have always said that it is far better to prevent people from leaving their country than to deal with those who have arrived in one of our countries.”

Starmer, who has been in office for 2 1/2 months, is trying to find ways to reduce the number of migrants reaching Britain in small boats from France after the number making the crossing has soared into the tens of thousands in recent years. He is seeking new ideas on how to do that after scrapping a plan by his Conservative predecessor Rishi Sunak to deport new arrivals to Rwanda.

Britain had yet to get a single deportation flight off the ground, despite sending hundreds of millions of pounds to the African country. Meanwhile, the number of arrivals across the Channel had risen to a record earlier this year, although the total so far this year has now fallen below 2022 levels.

Meloni — speaking in Italian — said the key to tackling criminal people-smuggling gangs was to “follow the money,” a phrase she delivered in English. She said Italy and the U.K. would share intelligence in an effort to tackle the problem.

Earlier this year, Meloni announced a controversial plan to divert migrants trying to reach mainland Italy to two hubs built in Albania and run by Italian authorities. But even as Meloni reiterated that the plan would go ahead, its implementation has been stalled by bureaucratic delays and a lack of clarity over the rules for selecting who gets sent there.

The two leaders also discussed issues including Ukraine, the Gaza conflict and business investment. Starmer said it was important for allies to put Ukraine in the “best possible position” to defend itself.

Amid pressure from Ukraine on allies to allow it to fire Britain’s Storm Shadow missiles at Russia, Meloni signaled caution, saying “the risk of escalation is one we deal with every day and requires caution.” Starmer has sought support in the US and among Ukraine’s European allies for allowing Ukraine to use Storm Shadow on Russian territory. The UK will also discuss the proposal with France and Germany in the coming days.

While Meloni, of the Brothers of Italy, has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine since taking office in 2022, her position is not fully shared by coalition partner Matteo Salvini of the Northern League, who questions Rome’s ability to back Kiev’s efforts. Moreover, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani — a member of a third coalition party, Forza Italia — has sounded a cautionary note over decisions on long-range weapons, telling Corriere della Sera that it is “up to each country” to decide.

Starmer, who held a roundtable with Italian companies earlier on Monday, also announced an investment of almost half a billion pounds by Leonardo SpA and Marcegaglia Steel SpA in the UK, a move his office said would boost British jobs in the manufacturing sector.

Defence company Leonardo will spend £435 million ($574 million) on its site in Yeovil, in southwest England, and on research and development programmes across Britain, where it operates at eight sites, Starmer’s office said. Marcegaglia will spend £50 million to build an electric arc furnace at its steelworks in Sheffield, in northern England.

The British prime minister has vowed to repair ties with European countries after a divisive eight-year period that saw the U.K. vote for Brexit and then complete its divorce from the bloc, a move that introduced new trade frictions and strained diplomatic ties with its closest neighbors. Meloni said the two countries had signed a cooperation agreement in a bid to boost cross-border investment.

Starmer reaffirmed his support for the Global Combat Air Programme, an initiative by the UK, Italy and Japan to develop new fighter jets, describing it as a “vital project”. It was the prime minister’s strongest backing for the plan yet, amid an ongoing review of defence priorities by the UK government. Starmer has previously stopped short of guaranteeing UK support for GCAP in the future.

–With assistance from Alex Wickham and Stuart Biggs.

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