The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Italy, Antonio TajaniHe criticized the Spanish government's proposal to regularize migrants, arguing that these people "could go to Italy." The statement was given in an interview with the newspaper El Mundo.
For the head of Farnesina, regularizing “Half a million people, or even more than a million, as is currently being discussed."It's unbelievable." He argued that the issue should be addressed within the European Union, and not just by Madrid.
Argument for free movement
Tajani argued that the measure would have an effect beyond Spanish borders. "It's a European problem, not just a Spanish one. It must be addressed jointly," he stated.
The minister cited free movement within the bloc as a central factor. "There is freedom of movement within the European Union, and people with legal residency in Spain could move to Italy," he stated.
He then added a linguistic argument. “Furthermore, for Spanish speakers, learning Italian is easier than learning other European languages. It’s easier for them to go to Italy than to Germany,” he said.
Relationship with Madrid
Despite the criticism, Tajani stated that the institutional relations between the governments of Pedro Sánchez and Giorgia Meloni are "good".
“We don’t share all political positions, since Spain has a left-wing government and Italy a center-right one, but Madrid remains a friendly nation, and nobody can break that friendship,” he concluded.
The regularization proposal under discussion in Spain has already garnered almost 1,2 million applications, according to data released in early July.
