Her comments came during a joint press conference after Rome talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz Thursday.
“The challenge is not only to talk about how, within European borders, to transfer migrants from one nation to another.
“The issue of secondary movements can only be solved by managing primary movements,” said Meloni, referring also to the meeting of EU interior ministers on the new EU pact on migration and asylum underway in Luxembourg on Thursday.
“The issue is to defend the external borders, to fight human trafficking, to encourage legal immigration.
“To do all this we need to involve the nations of transit and origin through serious cooperation, with investments, offering alternatives to those fleeing their countries.
“Because we must first of all defend the right not to have to migrate,” she added.
ANSA
