The accord with Tunisia resulting from a mission to Tunis in recent days by Ministers Franco Frattini and Roberto Maroni, will be scrutinised by the Council of Ministers meeting called for tomorrow at the seat of the government in Rome [Palazzo Chigi]. Minister Frattini has urged the Tunisian government to respect pledges, and Italian ambassador to Tunisia Pietro Benassi had a series of meetings with representatives of the government on the central theme of the accord with which Tunisia promises to stem the tide of illegal immigration toward Italy.
The Italian government is willing to provide both economic aid as well as the means for confronting the immigration flow, explained ministry spokesperson Maurizio Massari, underscoring that “such gestures would best be agreed upon immediately in order to stem the tide of immigrants, also by working out repatriation agreements” with Tunis. It is nevertheless clear, Massari pointed out, that a structural solution will be needed to resolve this problem, as we have proposed on a bilateral plane”.