Giorgia Meloni is reorienting itself – the EU should go along with it

Exactly one month has passed since the Cutro boat accident, in which at least 88 migrants died off the Calabrian coast. A month in which Italians stared in horror at the dead washed up on one of their beaches. To the many children among them. A month in which the Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni had to realize that she needs new solutions in migration policy if she wants to remain in office in the long term.

At first she had underestimated the importance that Italians would attach to the tragedy. But the deadliest accident involving a migrant boat in the last ten years happened in Cutro, and the population was deeply affected. Since then, the Italians have been demanding that such a disaster never happen again.

Meloni can therefore no longer rehash the old right-wing rhetoric of "closed ports", with which her coalition partner Matteo Salvini always pretended to want to solve the migration problem when he was interior minister. Because closed ports don't keep anyone from crossing, and above all they don't save anyone from drowning.

Meloni will therefore explore other avenues in Brussels. As in the past, it can no longer just be a matter of which key the migrants are to be divided up among the EU countries once they have arrived in Italy.

Rather, it should be in the interest of all countries to enable legal and safe migration: for those people who want to come to the EU to apply for asylum - and also for those who want to work here. The EU must decide and enforce the rules for this together. Also by appearing as one in negotiations with third countries.

Meloni has already taken the first steps in this direction. It has increased the quotas for legal labor migration to Italy and strengthened contacts with the countries of origin and transit. It is now up to the EU to walk this path together with her.