Meloni and the landing alert: the triangulation (with a blitz) between Tunisia, Türkiye, and Libya

Wednesday evening, a meeting at Palazzo Chigi with the Interior Minister. The next day—yesterday—the surprise raid in Tunisia. Today, a visit to Turkey, and next week, apparently, another, more delicate mission, this time to Libya. Giorgia Meloni fears a wave of landings on Italian shores. For now, according to data from the Interior Ministry, the numbers are under control: up nine percent compared to last year, but down sixty percent compared to 2023. And yet, the Italian intelligence information that reached the Prime Minister's desk isn't so comforting. Hence the decision to go on tour.

Yesterday's visit, according to the government's official statement, served as a platform for the Prime Minister to review the Mattei Plan for Africa with Tunisian President Kais Saied. The meeting also had another aspect: to discuss "cooperation on migration" and the joint commitment of Rome and Tunis "to combat criminal human trafficking networks and, at the same time, promote legal migration routes, including within the context of the Rome Process."

Regional "approaches" are being sought to stabilize internally destabilized territories. With this in mind, Meloni will be in Istanbul today for a trilateral summit between the Prime Minister of the Libyan Government of National Unity (GNA) based in Tripoli, Abdulhamid Dabaiba, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The meeting will address a wide range of strategic issues, including key regional issues, economic cooperation, the exploitation of energy resources in the Mediterranean, and migration flows. Libya remains the true front out of control: with 32,690 people having set sail as of yesterday, a 67 percent increase compared to the 19,580 in the same period in 2024. In short, according to figures from the Interior Ministry, approximately 90 percent of migrants landing on our shores departed from Libya. Tunisia, on the other hand, is not a cause for concern: figures show a drastic reduction in departures, from 12,052 to 2,393 in a year. Against this backdrop, the Prime Minister has been working for days on a trip to Libya, which would be very complicated for security reasons, especially if the destination were to be the Cyrenaica region ruled by Haftar. This is at the center of the diplomatic incident that saw the Italian and European delegations, including Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi, turned away. Meanwhile, the European Court of Justice's ruling on safe countries is expected today, a crucial step for the migrant project in Albania.

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