Matteo Renzi

Matteo Renzi has been President of the Council of Minister from February 2014 to December 2016. Renzi pushed for the “Europeanization” of Mare Nostrum, requesting the EU’s assistance in order to face what he considered to be a continental, and not national, crisis. Invoking the weight of an imaginary burden – the costs of the operation would reveal themselves to be minimal, in comparison with the programs adopted later on to replace it, Renzi government instrumentalized the question in order to reinforce its position in the European councils. (See Italy, “Executive Summary”) The original plan, hatched by Renzi, entailed a far more aggressive plan to bomb smugglers’ facilities and vessels on Libyan shores. However, in the weeks that followed, this idea was scrapped on the basis that such action would need a UN resolution and the expressed request of the Libyan government. (See Italy, “Reviewed List of Suspects).

As Italy took over the Presidency of the Council of the EU for a six-month term in July 2014, Renzi’s government announced that it would use the presidency’s agenda-setting and steering prerogatives to push for “the development of a common European response to arrivals of mixed migratory flows on Europe’s southern shores.” In speeches at the time, Renzi called for Mare Nostrum to be “inserted” into Frontex’ operations—an approach he labeled “Frontex +”—and demanded the “internationalization” of rescue operations through a “very strong investment” in Frontex. Under Renzi’s Presidency, Italian Foreign Affairs Minister Alfano declared the end of Mare Nostrum on 27 August 2014, in a press conference conjointly held with Commissioner Malmström. The operation was to be replaced by “Frontex +” Operation Triton on 1 November 2014, placed under the command of the Italian Ministry of the Interior and jointly led by Italy and Frontex.

The end of Mare Nostrum represents a turning point towards the perpetration of the criminal policies analyzed in this Communication. During Renzi’s tenure, Italy and the EU had recalibrated Mediterranean policy from an expansive Mare Nostrum mission focused on search-and-rescue to a small-scale operation tasked with border surveillance. It is undisputed that Italy, the EU institutions involved, and the other member states were able to anticipate the lethal consequences such a reorientation and reduction would cause. (See Italy, “Termination of Mare Nostrum (2014)”

In March 2015, Renzi said “witnessing systematic slaughter in the Mediterranean…How can we remain insensible when we’re witnessing entire populations dying at a time when modern means of communications allow us to be aware of everything". Renzi also stated that “the country was at war with migrant traffickers, “prepared to lead military intervention ” (See Reviewed List of Suspects).

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi called for European solidarity. Mr Renzi singled out Libya as the key problem, saying it was the starting point for about 90% of the migrants reaching Italy by sea. He said more rescue boats was not the issue, rather it was stopping the boats from departing (See Reviewed List of Suspects).