Meloni exploits Spain’s migration crisis to push EU agenda
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is turning Spain’s worsening migration crisis into political leverage, using the chaos engulfing the Canary Islands and southern Spanish coastlines to press for a harder European Union line on irregular arrivals — and to position herself as the bloc’s most credible voice on border control.
A crisis tailor-made for Meloni’s message
The numbers are hard to ignore. Spain recorded over 64,000 irregular migrant arrivals in 2024, a figure that surged nearly 15 percent compared to the previous year. The Canary Islands alone absorbed more than 46,000 people, overwhelming local reception facilities and straining municipal budgets to breaking point. For Meloni, that’s not just a Spanish problem — it’s an opportunity.
Since taking office in October 2022, Meloni has built her brand around tough migration rhetoric and, increasingly, around actual deals. Her government brokered the controversial Albania protocol, which ships asylum seekers to processing centers outside EU territory. It’s a model she’s been loudly promoting in Brussels, and Spain’s deteriorating situation gives her fresh ammunition.
Brussels dynamics shift in her favor
The timing couldn’t be better for Rome. The new European Commission, with Ursula von der Leyen heading into her second term, has already signaled a tougher posture on external borders. Meloni has aligned herself closely with that shift, cultivating relationships with center-right leaders and edging her party, Brothers of Italy, closer to the European mainstream — without abandoning the hardline base that elected her.
But Spain’s Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is in a different bind entirely. He’s politically dependent on parties that are deeply skeptical of punitive migration measures, leaving him little room to maneuver. That contrast isn’t lost on Meloni or her advisers.
“Italy has shown that negotiating bilateral return agreements with origin and transit countries actually works,” a senior EU diplomatic official said. “There’s growing interest across member states in that approach.”
Not everyone is convinced
Critics argue Meloni’s approach is more theater than policy. The Albania centers have processed a tiny fraction of arrivals and faced repeated legal challenges in Italian courts. Human rights organizations say the framing of a “migration crisis” obscures the reality that most arrivals are fleeing conflict or extreme poverty — not economic opportunism.
Still, the political math in Europe has tilted her way.
And that’s precisely the point. Whether or not the Albania model works in practice, it works as a political symbol — one Meloni is deploying with considerable skill while rivals like Sánchez struggle to find their footing.
What comes next
The European Commission is expected to table updated proposals on migration and asylum management before the summer recess. Meloni will be watching closely — and lobbying hard. If Spain can’t stabilize arrivals in the coming months, the pressure on Brussels to adopt a more Meloni-friendly framework will only intensify. Rome isn’t just watching the crisis unfold. It’s helping write the next chapter.
