Italy and Netherlands' migrations opinions

The opinion article that I have done represents a fight between democracy and far-right views across Europe. Its focus is centered around the views that the new government of the Netherlands and Giorgia Meloni have in regards to migration. My opinion in this article reflects my strong beliefs that I have for a democratic world, without having discrimination as a tool of dividing us all. My stance in this article is against the ideas that the Netherlands and Italy have been promoting regarding migration. It is not a critique yet an analysis of their actions and how efficient they were.

 Thanks to my colleagues, now you can also see my point of view and my beliefs. 

Nowadays in the European Union, we have seen the rise of the far-right parties, countries such as Hungary, Slovakia, and Italy, and far-right elements in the Dutch government. One reason for this rise could be the masses of migrants that were entering Europe these past years. 

In 2022, in Italy, the elections were won by Fratelli d’Italia, which on paper is recommended as a center-right party. In 2023, the elections that were held in the Netherlands were won by the PVV, a nationalist party that places itself in the right-populist wing. 

The problem starts with how states see individuals, because this phenomenon won’t be stopped, and the best example is The Memorandum of Understanding, a failure that increased migration up to 60%. 

Ideology shaping

If you ask me, the simple answer that you can get is that people are tired of the same promises that democracy has given them. People from these parties, especially in the Netherlands, spread hatred against Moroccans, Turks, or Muslim people in general, who, in Geert Wilders’ eyes, are the reason for the immigration crisis that the Netherlands has been going through.  

The problem starts with how states see individuals, and of course the phenomenon of migration. This phenomenon won’t be stopped, and the best example is The Memorandum of Understanding, a failure that increased migration up to 60%.  

Italy’s position for immigrants is more vague than the one from the Netherlands, because Meloni’s position wasn’t against migrants but more against illegal migrants. The first example in this case is the Memorandum of Understanding, between Tunisia and EU, a strategic partnership focused for economic support, trade, migration management and security cooperation. The Memorandum of Understanding between EU and Tunisia, according to Natalie Tocci and Leo Goretti in an article written in 2023 for Istituto Affari Internazionali, was a failure because after 8 weeks of its signing, the rate of immigration went up to 60% from Northern Africa. 

New position against illegal migration

Elena Giordano in an article for Politco said that Giorgia Meloni was praised across Europe because of her stance.  

Yet, I will explain Meloni’s new position against illegal migration, which is not beneficial on an international level. In order to fight illegal migration, Meloni’s idea was to transport migrants to reception centers in Albania, which is unbelievable because she deprived people of their human rights by exposing them to further risks , and not just that, but this can also mean that she is not fighting; she deports people to Albania, and then it is not her problem anymore.  

Besides this, Meloni has another episode where she deprived individuals of their human rights in order to get them deported from Italy. A clear example is the return of migrants in Libya which according to an article from the publication Human Rights Watch (2023) they faced severe abuses, including arbitrary torture and detention.  

People in power, especially from the far right. To see migrants as a disease that spreads around their countries and more as people that want a better life, better conditions for their kids, and families. Centers in which they can embrace the cultures, Italian in this case or Dutch, can be a first step in their accommodation with foreigners, not sending them back.  

The Netherlands and its shift  

On May 16th, 2024, a coalition has been formed by the government in The Netherlands consisting of 4 parties: PVV, VVD, NSC, BBB and according to an article written by Reuters, the policies that the government has agreed upon are about migrants, energy, agriculture and the environment, and taxes. ‘According to the same article, in terms of immigration, the coalition aims to have the strictest admittance policy for asylum seekers among EU countries and says it will request an opt-out of common EU rules for migration. Border controls will be intensified, and admittance procedures will be shorter and stricter, while foreigners who have already been denied asylum in another EU country will be sent away immediately’. This change can only come due to masses of immigrants that came to the Netherlands who, in the eyes of Gert Wilders, affected the housing market of the Netherlands, an opinion strengthened by Hanne Cokelaere (2024) in an article written for Politico  

In terms of internal politics, we still need a few years to see how they will rule since the government of the Netherlands has been formed this year. However, in international politics, their views have been sufficiently shaped to say that the prime minister of the Netherlands is Eurosceptic,  Tim Ros et al. (2023) for Politico also emphasized the idea that the prime-minister of the Netherlands is Eurosceptic ‘a so-called Nexit ballot was a core plank of the far-right leader’s ultimately successful offer in the Netherlands’  

From the information that we have, it appears that the new government of The Netherlands wants as much as possible to decrease the number of immigrants in their country, intensifying border controls, retiring from the EU Asylum Policy, and spreading anti-migrant messages. 

The rise of far-right parties

The rise of far-right parties in Europe is not an accident; it has been meant to happen due to populist messages that are often seen in politicians' speeches. These types of messages are appealing because the population only sees a man, or in Italy’s case a woman, that fights for their nation and nothing else. However, these movements are not based on solutions, but more on the messages that these movements have; they break everything that democracy has been trying to build for ages, nations that are for everyone, yet in this period for many people nowadays it matters what nationality you have more than your intentions. Illegal migration should be a fight for every country that has this as a problem in their agenda, but in conditions that are not depriving individuals of their human rights, not deporting them in obscure conditions, yet educating them, it is not necessary to build fences between nations; intensified border controls can be indeed a solution, yet it won’t stop. Migration is a common element in this world; it is something that has been happening for centuries; it wasn’t stopped then, and it won’t stop now, because you can’t fight people’s desire for a better life, for gaining material needs in another country, etc. 

In conclusion, the Netherlands and Italy should adopt a stance that is not so far away from what democracy is, fight illegal migration but not undermine human rights, and not spread messages against ethnicities or other nations, and find solutions that can work for both parties: the state and individuals, because this phenomenon won’t be stopped, and the best example is The Memorandum of Understanding, a failure that increased migration up to 60%.