Overview
- Meloni’s cabinet cleared a draft allowing temporary bans on entries by sea for up to 30 days, extendable to six months in cases of serious threats to public order or national security.
- Triggers cited in the text include exceptional migratory pressure, terrorism risks, global health emergencies and major international events.
- Breaches would draw fines of up to €50,000, with repeat violations leading to vessel confiscation, a measure widely viewed as targeting NGO rescue ships.
- The bill would permit transferring intercepted people to third countries under agreements and seeks to revive offshore processing hubs such as those planned in Albania.
- Italy presents the plan as aligning with EU asylum reforms passed this week, while NGOs and legal experts argue the blockade is vaguely defined, could violate international and EU law, and must still clear both chambers of parliament.