Col. Paolo Emilio Recchia

Paolo Emilio Recchia has been Chief of Staff of the Central Air Naval Command of the Guardia di Finanza from 2014 to 2019. During his mandate, it is reasonable to think that he has been implicated in the operations at sea to contrast the “irregular” migration flows.  The Guardia di Finanza is responsible for the surveillance of maritime borders for the purposes of combating illegal immigration within the territorial sea and the contiguous area, including the exercise of activities related to international cooperation operations under the aegis of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency – Frontex, in which the Guardia di Finanza is assigned the exclusive role of tactical coordination in Italian territorial waters. The operations at sea are conducted by the Central Air Naval Command (Comparto Aereonavle) of the Guardia di Finanza. The Central Air Naval Command works in close cooperation with FRONTEX for patrolling the Central Mediterranean and contrast the irregular migrantion fluxes.The Guardia di Finanza has played a key role in leading the administrative seizures towards NGOs that conduct search and rescue operations. (See Italy, “The Guardia di Finanza”).