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UK PM Starmer vows migration cooperation on Italy trip
British leader promises a new era of enforcement to dismantle people smuggling networks and bring order to the asylum system
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni shares a laugh with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer as they walk in the garden of Villa Doria Pamphili after their meeting on September 16, 2024, in Rome. — AFP
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer promised "a new era" in cross-border cooperation to tackle people smuggling gangs on a trip to Rome on Monday for talks with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, part of a reset in ties with the rest of Europe.
Starmer has put renewing ties with European Union leaders at the top of his diplomatic agenda since winning an election in July, and Monday's visit to Rome follows trips to Berlin, Paris and Dublin.
Before talks with Meloni, who had close ties with Starmer's predecessor Rishi Sunak, the British leader promised "a new era of international enforcement to dismantle these networks, protect our shores and bring order to the asylum system".
Starmer has scrapped the previous government's contentious plan to deport asylum seekers who arrive in small boats to Rwanda, but has not ruled out arrangements that would see asylum claims processed offshore, similar to an agreement Italy has struck with Albania.
"We're interested in the work that Italy and Albania are doing, but that is at an early stage," Interior Minister Yvette Cooper told broadcaster ITV.
"What we're more interested in is the work around organised immigration crime, the smuggling, the trafficking gangs, because that's delivering results straight away."
On Sunday, French authorities said eight people had died trying to cross the Channel to the UK after their boat got into difficulty, bringing the death toll in attempted crossings to 46 since the start of the year.
Starmer's Labour government has said it will step up deportation flights and use money saved from the Rwanda scheme to help law enforcement to tackle the crossings.
In Italy, Starmer visited the National Coordination Centre for Migration to discuss Italy's approach to the issue, which has seen a 60 per cent drop in irregular arrivals by sea, his office said.
"Here there's been some quite dramatic reduction so I want to understand how that came about," Starmer told broadcasters, adding he wanted to know more about "upstream" work to stop people from making their journeys as well as other schemes.
He will also raise defence matters in the talks with Meloni, which could touch on Britain's involvement in the GCAP fighter jet project with Italy and Japan.
In July, Starmer emphasised the programme's importance, dampening some speculation it could be axed in a defence review, but he stopped short of guaranteeing continued British involvement.
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