Russia Accused of Using Migrants to Destabilize Europe, Warns Italian PM Meloni

[Social Media]

 

Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has accused Russia of deliberately orchestrating illegal migration to destabilize Europe, calling for a more robust defense of the EU’s external borders. Speaking at a North-South security summit with leaders from Greece, Sweden, and Finland, Meloni emphasized the gravity of the threat, stating, “We have to understand the threat is much wider than we imagine.”  

 

"We will not allow Russia to undermine our security" – PM Meloni

"We will not allow Russia to undermine our security" – PM Meloni

Kaja Kallas 🇪🇺 brought Nordic and Southern states to Finland to discuss further European integration and security pic.twitter.com/JiweyxpaMH

— Mariska den Eelden 🇪🇺🇳🇱 (@eeldenden) December 22, 2024

 

Meloni, who leads a conservative coalition government, stressed the need to protect Europe’s borders from both Russia and criminal organizations. “We want to defend external borders, and we don’t want to allow Russia or criminal organizations to undermine our security,” she said. Her remarks follow claims by some EU member states, including Finland and Estonia, that Russia has facilitated illegal migration from the Middle East and other regions into Europe. Russia has also been accused of using proxies in Africa to encourage migration across the Mediterranean.  

 

While Moscow denies these allegations, Finland, which shares an 830-mile border with Russia, faces significant challenges in monitoring its land border, just as Italy and Greece contend with maritime threats. At the summit in Lapland, Meloni underscored the need for tailored strategies to address these varied challenges. “What we understood in this meeting is our borders are very different, so they need different tools. What happens here in Finland, where a fence is useful, cannot be done in the Mediterranean,” she explained.  

 

Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo echoed these concerns, describing the border threats as “an existential question” for EU members and NATO allies. He emphasized the importance of protecting not only national borders but also those of the European Union as a whole.  

 

Meloni also highlighted the broader security issues Europe faces, including artificial intelligence, cyber security, critical infrastructure, and supply chains. Migration, she noted, remains a particularly pressing issue requiring a unified yet geographically specific approach. She revealed ongoing efforts with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to collaborate with African nations to combat illegal migration.  

 

Addressing past EU migration policies, Meloni criticized the bloc’s focus on solidarity-based solutions, stating, “Tackling the issue of illegal immigration solely as a solidarity-based debate was a mistake. The result is that we have been unable to protect our borders.” Despite initial challenges with Italy’s use of processing centers in Albania, she reaffirmed her belief in involving third countries outside the EU to manage asylum requests.  

 

Meanwhile, Italy’s internal politics on migration remain contentious. Last week, Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, leader of the far-right League party, was acquitted of kidnapping charges over his decision to block a migrant boat at sea in 2019. The verdict, following a three-year trial, rejected prosecutors’ calls for a six-year prison sentence. This acquittal came amid ongoing tensions between the Italian government and judiciary over migration policies, including plans to send asylum seekers to Albania, which some courts have questioned.  

 

As Europe grapples with growing migration pressures, Meloni’s warnings signal a call for coordinated action and reevaluation of border security strategies.

 

Based on a report by Daily Telegraph 2024-12-24

 

 

 

[AndreasHG]

Kudos to Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, the first female prime minister of the southern European country, for her candor and clarity in denouncing Putin, for using immigration as a weapon against Europe. 

 

Unable to compete with the West in creating wealth and raising the standard of living of its citizens, Russia focuses on what it does best: hindering the development of its neighbors, terrified by the prospect of being left behind and ending up in the waste bin of history.

 

[frank83628]

Russia Russia Russia, yawn. No evidemce,  just nonsense to  continue the feas of the "bogeyman"

[Bkk Brian]

18 minutes ago, frank83628 said:

Russia Russia Russia, yawn. No evidemce,  just nonsense to  continue the feas of the "bogeyman"

Plenty of evidence that your Russian terrorist mates are doing this..............

 

source

[frank83628]

Your source is CNN, the outlet tha just got exposed pushing a fake prisoner rescue in syria just a week ago🤣 

[Hakuna Matata]

5 hours ago, Social Media said:

Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has accused Russia of deliberately orchestrating illegal migration to destabilize Europe,

 

Oh, what a BS! 

 

90% of migrants are arriving in Europe over the Mediterranean, another 9% - over the Balkans. Only 1% using Russia or Belarus as an entry point to EU.

[jippytum]

1 hour ago, frank83628 said:

Russia Russia Russia, yawn. No evidemce,  just nonsense to  continue the feas of the "bogeyman"

Plenty of evidence to prove Russia is  a threat to most countries outside the Communist block. 

You can observe the Russian arragance displayed by Putin in many of its citizens residing in Thailand. 

[john donson]

now who went to destabilize the whole african continent and removing the dictators that had some kind of  control on the outflow or unwanted that now flood europe ?

 

at least the US has some kind of 'christian' economical refugees