European Interest

EU accused of ‘interfering’ in Italian politics

Flickr/European Parliament/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
The European Union is meddling in Italy’s domestic politics, according to League leader Matteo Salvini.

The European Union is meddling in Italy’s domestic politics, according to League leader Matteo Salvini. He was critical of recent comments from Brussels about Rome’s budget and migrant policies.

For instance, the EU’s Migration and Home Affairs Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos said he hopes Italy’s policy on asylum seekers does not change under the new government.

Then, European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said Italy must continue to respect its commitments to the EU, including pledges to cut its big public debt, regardless of who takes over the helm of the new government in Rome.

“From Europe we have the umpteenth unacceptable interference by unelected officials,” Salvini said. “We have received and maintained too much. Now is the time for legality, security and push-backs.”

As reported by the Italian news agency ANSA, Avramopoulos also noted that Italy deserved praise for the way it has addressed the Mediterranean migrant crisis while stressing that it was one of the countries to have received most support from Brussels. Italy, along with Greece, has taken the brunt of the Mediterranean migrant crisis and has been credited with saving Europe’s honour for its efforts to save lives at sea.

However, the far-right League, which is in talks with the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement in order to form a new government, has called for tougher migrant policies.

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