Italian Ambassador Giovanni Umberto de Vito and Speaker Anġlu Farrugia. Photo: Reuben Piscopo/DOIItalian Ambassador Giovanni Umberto de Vito yesterday listed youth employment, bridging the economic gap and migration as the priorities of his country during its presidency of the European Union.
He told the House Foreign Affairs Committee that Italy would be working to the theme “A Fresh Start”. This forward-looking position had been taken in view of the fact that all the EU’s institutions would be renewed during the presidency.
He said European Commission President-elect Jean Claude Juncker was considering appointing an ad hoc commissioner on immigration.
A main priority, said Ambassador de Vito, would be to better reconcile fiscal consolidation with economic growth. Fiscal stability was crucial to economic stability.
Jean Claude Juncker is considering appointing an ad hoc commissioner on immigration
Of particular concern was the increase in unemployment particularly among those under 30, and Italy would seek to reverse the trend, taking the US and Asia as benchmarks to close the economic gap.
He said Italy would like to extend the Youth Employment Initiative and the other job creation initiatives among young people.
In line with this, the October Summit would be held in Milan, in tandem with the EXPO, so the world leaders could meet the movers and shakers of the business world.
Dr de Vito said Italian Presidency would not only have a Mediterranean dimension but also a Maltese touch, given the recent agreement that a Maltese diplomat be attached to the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to gain experience in view of Malta’s upcoming presidency of the EU.
Italy and Malta, he said, were in the front line and the positions taken by the EU would be enacted while pushing for more cooperation and integrated border management to keep migration a priority.
To compound the matter, EU member states were flooded with Ukrainian migrants while the Mediterranean countries were seeking to draw attention to the Syrian influx.
“This is a complex matter and will not be solved in six months, also given the costliness of the issue.”
The EU had a global dimension, particularly in the migration issue, and Europe consistently worked on forging dialogue with North African countries. It was the aim of the Italian Presidency, he said, to open dialogue with countries in other regions in Africa. This would be of particular interest to Malta as it might mean a change in the rules of engagement for Frontex to make it more receptive to migrants rather than just being a patrolling entity.
Maltese MPs on the committee referred to unemployment and migration, quoting Mr Juncker saying Frontex finances were grossly insufficient. They pointed out Italy would have a hard time persuading the other member states to participate in burden-sharing.