{"id":54765,"date":"2024-01-28T19:57:07","date_gmt":"2024-01-28T19:57:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/italys-meloni-targets-energy-migration-with-africa-plan"},"modified":"2024-01-28T21:45:48","modified_gmt":"2024-01-28T21:45:48","slug":"italys-meloni-targets-energy-migration-with-africa-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/italys-meloni-targets-energy-migration-with-africa-plan","title":{"rendered":"Italy\u2019s Meloni targets energy, migration with Africa plan"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Mozambique. <\/strong><\/span>Energy deals in return for stopping migration. Italy\u2019s hard-right Giorgia Meloni reveals her long-trailed development plan for Africa this weekend, a \u201cnon-predatory\u201d approach which critics warn favours European priorities and pockets.<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Meloni, who came to power in 2022 on an anti-migrant ticket, hopes to posit Italy as a key bridge between Africa and Europe, funnelling energy north while exchanging investment in the south for deals aimed at preventing migration.<\/p>\n

Heads of numerous African countries are expected in the Italian capital for a summit on Sunday and Monday, along with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and representatives of United Nations agencies and the World Bank.<\/p>\n

Meloni\u2019s so-called Mattei Plan is named after Enrico Mattei, the founder of Eni \u2014 Italy\u2019s state-owned energy giant.<\/p>\n

In the 1950s, he advocated a co-operative stance towards African countries, helping them to develop their natural resources.<\/p>\n

\u201cA certain paternalistic and predatory approach has not worked so far. What needs to be done in Africa is not charity but strategic partnerships, as equals,\u201d Meloni, 47, said earlier this month.<\/p>\n

Rome holds the presidency of the G7 group of nations this year and has vowed to make African development a central theme, in part to increase influence in a continent where powers such as China, Russia, India, Japan and Turkey have been expanding their political clout.<\/p>\n

Experts warned Italy may struggle to get key support for a new deal from the European Union, which unveiled its own Africa package worth 150 billion euros ($160 billion) in 2022.<\/p>\n

Meloni\u2019s government, which cut funds for foreign aid cooperation last year, has formally allocated a more modest 2.8 million euros a year from 2024 to 2026 for the Mattei Plan, details of which are scant.<\/p>\n

But Italy\u2019s best-selling Corriere della Sera daily said the government could earmark four billion euros for the plan in the next five to seven years.<\/p>\n

Schemes are expected to include efforts to develop African agribusiness and mobilise Italian transport and major works companies.<\/p>\n

But the biggest investment is expected in energy.<\/p>\n

Natural resources <\/b><\/p>\n

Meloni wants to transform Italy into an energy gateway, capitalising on demand from fellow European countries seeking to slash their dependence on Russian gas following Moscow\u2019s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n

Critics say the plan appears too heavily focused on fossil fuels.<\/p>\n

Some Italian media have dubbed it the \u201cDescalzi Plan\u201d, after Eni chief executive Claudio Descalzi.<\/p>\n

Some 40 African civil society organisations warned this week that the plan\u2019s \u201cprincipal objective is to expand Italy\u2019s access to Africa\u2019s fossil gas for Europe and strengthen Italian companies\u2019 role in exploiting Africa\u2019s natural and human resources\u201d.<\/p>\n

Dean Bhekumuzi Bhebhe, head of the Don\u2019t Gas Africa campaign, said Rome\u2019s \u201cblind ambition… disregards the urgent climate crisis and the voices of African civil society\u201d.<\/p>\n

They called instead for a renewable energy drive to supply the needs of over 40 percent of Africans who have no access to energy at all.<\/p>\n

Francesco Sassi, researcher in energy geopolitics at the RIE think tank, told AFP Meloni was pursuing a \u201cshort-sighted\u201d and \u201coversimplified strategy to deal with energy insecurity and the challenges of the energy transition\u201d.<\/p>\n

Her \u201capolitical\u201d approach also \u201cimplies fewer intrusions into the domestic policy of African energy partners, whether this be in human rights defence or energy and environmental policies\u201d.<\/p>\n

Remote <\/b><\/p>\n

While energy \u201cmay be the most relevant part\u201d of the Mattei Plan, \u201cMeloni is investing political capital in it mostly because of migration\u201d, according to Giovanni Carbone, head of the Africa Programme at the Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI) in Milan.<\/p>\n

Despite promising to stop migrant boats from North Africa, landings in Italy have risen under Meloni, from some 105,000 in 2022 to almost 158,000 in 2023.<\/p>\n

Italy has been training the Libyan and Tunisian coastguards as part of an EU initiative.<\/p>\n

The Mattei Plan also intends to tackle so-called push factors and persuade origin countries to sign readmittance deals for migrants refused permission to stay in Italy.<\/p>\n

Experts warn the initiative must be structured to last, in a country famed for its chronic political instability.<\/p>\n

Carbone questioned whether the government has the necessary African development knowledge or experience to make the plan work.<\/p>\n

\u201cItaly has a tradition of relatively close relations with Mediterranean countries such as Tunisia, Libya, partly Algeria and Egypt as well, but less so with sub-Saharan Africa, which should be at the heart of the Mattei Plan,\u201d he told AFP.<\/p>\n

\u201cItaly has primarily small and medium-sized enterprises, for which it would be a big step to think about investing in what are perceived to be very remote and often problematic countries.\u201d<\/p>\n

Former Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi also looked towards sub-Saharan African markets in 2014 to 2016, \u201cbut it proved very difficult\u201d, Carbone added.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Mozambique<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Mozambique. Energy deals in return for stopping migration. Italy\u2019s hard-right Giorgia Meloni reveals her long-trailed development plan for Africa this weekend, a \u201cnon-predatory\u201d approach which critics warn favours European priorities and pockets. Prime Minister Meloni, who came to power in 2022 on an anti-migrant ticket, hopes to posit Italy as a key bridge […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":54764,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[233,281,283],"class_list":["post-54765","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-mozambique","tag-mozambique"],"yoast_head":"\nItaly\u2019s Meloni targets energy, migration with Africa plan - Mozambique<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Energy deals in return for stopping migration. Italy\u2019s hard-right Giorgia Meloni reveals her long-trailed development pl ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/italys-meloni-targets-energy-migration-with-africa-plan\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Italy\u2019s Meloni targets energy, migration with Africa plan\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Energy deals in return for stopping migration. Italy\u2019s hard-right Giorgia Meloni reveals her long-trailed development pl ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/italys-meloni-targets-energy-migration-with-africa-plan\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Mozambique\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-01-28T19:57:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-01-28T21:45:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/sites\/64\/2024\/01\/sm_1706464091.205257.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"828\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"552\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/italys-meloni-targets-energy-migration-with-africa-plan#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/italys-meloni-targets-energy-migration-with-africa-plan\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Italy\u2019s Meloni targets energy, migration with Africa plan\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-01-28T19:57:07+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-01-28T21:45:48+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/italys-meloni-targets-energy-migration-with-africa-plan\"},\"wordCount\":802,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/italys-meloni-targets-energy-migration-with-africa-plan#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/sites\/64\/2024\/01\/sm_1706464091.205257.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Mozambique\",\"Mozambique\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/italys-meloni-targets-energy-migration-with-africa-plan#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/italys-meloni-targets-energy-migration-with-africa-plan\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/italys-meloni-targets-energy-migration-with-africa-plan\",\"name\":\"Italy\u2019s Meloni targets energy, migration with Africa plan - Mozambique\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/italys-meloni-targets-energy-migration-with-africa-plan#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/italys-meloni-targets-energy-migration-with-africa-plan#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/sites\/64\/2024\/01\/sm_1706464091.205257.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-01-28T19:57:07+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-01-28T21:45:48+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"description\":\"Energy deals in return for stopping migration. Italy\u2019s hard-right Giorgia Meloni reveals her long-trailed development pl ...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/italys-meloni-targets-energy-migration-with-africa-plan#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/italys-meloni-targets-energy-migration-with-africa-plan\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/italys-meloni-targets-energy-migration-with-africa-plan#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/sites\/64\/2024\/01\/sm_1706464091.205257.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/sites\/64\/2024\/01\/sm_1706464091.205257.jpg\",\"width\":828,\"height\":552,\"caption\":\"Italy\u2019s Meloni targets energy, migration with Africa plan\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/italys-meloni-targets-energy-migration-with-africa-plan#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Italy\u2019s Meloni targets energy, migration with Africa plan\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/\",\"name\":\"Mozambique\",\"description\":\"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\",\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"cfeditoren\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Italy\u2019s Meloni targets energy, migration with Africa plan - Mozambique","description":"Energy deals in return for stopping migration. Italy\u2019s hard-right Giorgia Meloni reveals her long-trailed development pl ...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/italys-meloni-targets-energy-migration-with-africa-plan","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Italy\u2019s Meloni targets energy, migration with Africa plan","og_description":"Energy deals in return for stopping migration. Italy\u2019s hard-right Giorgia Meloni reveals her long-trailed development pl ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/italys-meloni-targets-energy-migration-with-africa-plan","og_site_name":"Mozambique","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa","article_published_time":"2024-01-28T19:57:07+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-01-28T21:45:48+00:00","og_image":[{"width":828,"height":552,"url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/sites\/64\/2024\/01\/sm_1706464091.205257.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"cfeditoren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"cfeditoren","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/italys-meloni-targets-energy-migration-with-africa-plan#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/italys-meloni-targets-energy-migration-with-africa-plan"},"author":{"name":"cfeditoren","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"headline":"Italy\u2019s Meloni targets energy, migration with Africa plan","datePublished":"2024-01-28T19:57:07+00:00","dateModified":"2024-01-28T21:45:48+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/italys-meloni-targets-energy-migration-with-africa-plan"},"wordCount":802,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/italys-meloni-targets-energy-migration-with-africa-plan#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/sites\/64\/2024\/01\/sm_1706464091.205257.jpg","keywords":["Africa Press","Africa Press-Mozambique","Mozambique"],"articleSection":["all news","policy"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/italys-meloni-targets-energy-migration-with-africa-plan#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/italys-meloni-targets-energy-migration-with-africa-plan","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/italys-meloni-targets-energy-migration-with-africa-plan","name":"Italy\u2019s Meloni targets energy, migration with Africa plan - Mozambique","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/italys-meloni-targets-energy-migration-with-africa-plan#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/italys-meloni-targets-energy-migration-with-africa-plan#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/sites\/64\/2024\/01\/sm_1706464091.205257.jpg","datePublished":"2024-01-28T19:57:07+00:00","dateModified":"2024-01-28T21:45:48+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"description":"Energy deals in return for stopping migration. Italy\u2019s hard-right Giorgia Meloni reveals her long-trailed development pl ...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/italys-meloni-targets-energy-migration-with-africa-plan#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/italys-meloni-targets-energy-migration-with-africa-plan"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/italys-meloni-targets-energy-migration-with-africa-plan#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/sites\/64\/2024\/01\/sm_1706464091.205257.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/sites\/64\/2024\/01\/sm_1706464091.205257.jpg","width":828,"height":552,"caption":"Italy\u2019s Meloni targets energy, migration with Africa plan"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/italys-meloni-targets-energy-migration-with-africa-plan#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Italy\u2019s Meloni targets energy, migration with Africa plan"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/","name":"Mozambique","description":"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb","name":"cfeditoren","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"cfeditoren"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54765","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54765"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54765\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54764"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54765"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54765"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54765"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}