Borders closed at least until the end of the year between Friuli Venezia Giulia and Slovenia. Record of rejections compared to what was the previous situation and the hope – according to the minister – of restoring free movement based on the Schengen treaty for 2025. Two important details: at the moment it is “only” a hope and not there are apparent chances that this could happen ahead of the end-of-year deadline. Not after the summer, then. The times are extending well beyond the forecasts anticipated months ago after a summit in Rome chaired by the same minister – Matteo Piantedosi (Interno) – who yesterday morning in Gorizia reiterated that closing the borders is still necessary.
THE REUNION
The trilateral meeting with Slovenia and Croatia gave birth to some initial news, given by minister Matteo Piantedosi: “The hope – he said – is to be able to restore the free movement of people at the border in 2025”. Then the owner of the Interior Ministry spoke of “crucial months”, alluding to the next ones. The halt to the Schengen treaty was decreed by Rome after the Hamas attacks against Israel on 7 October. The internal legislation of the treaty itself provides for a maximum suspension of up to two years. But France, “playing” on the restoration followed by other stops, has effectively said goodbye to Schengen since 2015. “Which we hope will not happen to us too”, explained the regional councilor for Security, Pierpaolo Roberti. In the meantime, however, checks at the crossings between Friuli Venezia Giulia and Slovenia will continue even after the summer and throughout the autumn. It will continue until the end of the year, with a view to 2025.
THE DATA
«The Friuli Venezia Giulia Region – said President Massimiliano Fedriga – has made available, within the limits of its competences and obviously in agreement with Slovenia and Croatia, its capabilities, therefore the Civil Protection and the tools at its disposal, to further increase more possibilities for border control. As regards migratory flows, the numbers presented by the Minister of the Interior this year highlight a clear improvement compared to the past: in Friuli Venezia Giulia, 1,800 rejections have already been exceeded, while before the introduction of border controls, therefore 21 October 2023, we had at most 80-90 readmissions per year. Furthermore, the increase in arrests of human traffickers has translated into a reduction in the number of migrants that the regional territory is called upon to manage: in the Cara of Gorizia there are currently around 300 people present, numbers far from the 800 in the past . The situation is much more manageable, although it is necessary to always keep our guard up because these are phenomena that can change very quickly. I therefore thank Minister Piantedosi for having adopted effective measures which are producing concrete results. Thanks to the government’s interventions, Friuli Venezia Giulia has enjoyed a strengthening of border control, especially with regards to the State Police, which is supported in the surveillance action at the crossings by the Carabinieri and Guardia di Finanza, in addition to the personnel of the Army. In the summer months, which are the most delicate ones, there will therefore be a further strengthening”.
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