VZCZCXRO0476
RR RUEHAG RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHLZ
DE RUEHRO #2191/01 2161022
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 041022Z AUG 06
FM AMEMBASSY ROME
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5538
INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RUEAHLC/DHS WASHDC
RUEAUSA/DOL WASHDC
RUEHFL/AMCONSUL FLORENCE 1620
RUEHNP/AMCONSUL NAPLES 1716
RUEHMIL/AMCONSUL MILAN 7457

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ROME 002191 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV ELAB SMIG IT
SUBJECT:  ITALY WIDENS THE WELCOME MAT FOR IMMIGRANTS 
 
 
ROME 00002191  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU)  Summary.  The Prodi government has been surprisingly 
proactive on immigration issues since it took office in May 2006. 
The Council of Ministers today will introduce legislation to cut 
from ten to five years the time needed for immigrants to qualify for 
citizenship and will offer, for the first time, citizenship to 
immigrants born in Italy. By increasing the quota for legal workers, 
the government will increase the number of legal immigrants by 12 
percent in the next year.  The government also eased family 
reunification rules for immigrants and exempted new EU member states 
from residency permit requirements.  The Interior Minister now is 
considering temporary resident permits for immigrants seeking work. 
All these proposals reflect the need to attract low-skilled labor to 
replace a shrinking workforce in an aging society with a low 
birthrate and low economic growth.  More structural reforms will be 
needed to recruit high-skilled workers and better align immigration 
policy to labor supply and demand.  End summary. 
 
Easing Access to Citizenship 
---------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) The Council of Ministers is expected to approve and send 
to Parliament today a new law on citizenship.  The proposal, drafted 
by Interior Minister Amato, would reduce from ten to five years the 
amount of time a legal immigrant must wait before applying for 
citizenship, currently a long and uncertain process in Italy. 
According to the Catholic NOG Caritas, the measure could affect 
900,000 immigrants currently in Italy.  The proposed reform would 
also: 
 
--introduce the concept of jus soli by giving citizenship to 
immigrants born in Italy to parents who have resided legally here 
for five years, or to parents born in Italy who are legal 
residents; 
 
--introduce the concept of jus domicili by allowing minor children 
of parents who are residing and working legally in Italy to apply 
for citizenship when they reach majority age if they have attended 
school for three years or worked legally for at least a year. 
 
Legal Immigration to Soar 
------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) On July 21, the Prodi government approved a new quota for 
legal immigration, one that will increase the number of immigrants 
by 12 percent to approximately 3.3 million (out of a population of 
57 million).  Under the 2003 Bossi-Fini law, the Council of 
Ministers has the authority to limit the number of foreign workers 
that can be hired by companies or families each year by controlling 
approval for labor contracts.  In March 2006, more than 500,000 work 
permit requests were submitted but only 170,000 were approved by the 
Berlusconi government.  PM Prodi decided to approval all requests 
submitted as of mid-July. 
 
¶4.  (SBU)  In principle under Bossi-Fini, companies must apply for 
foreign workers; when they receive approval, the workers then can 
obtain visas and work permits that allow them to enter the country. 
In reality, most of these applicants were already here, working 
illegally, so the Prodi decision will effectively legalize an 
estimated 350,000 illegal immigrants.  These individuals will still 
have to sneak out of the country and re-enter legally, a process 
that can take up to nine months. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Under Bossi-Fini, the Berlusconi government legalized 
700,000 immigrants in 2002-2003, mostly those from Eastern Europe. 
However, the Center-Right has been critical of Prodi's decision to 
increase quota levels.  Former U/S of Labor Maurizio Sacconi argued 
that the increase will lead to more illegal immigration, a reduction 
in wages and increased unemployment.  The anti-immigrant Northern 
League party suggested the decision would hamper integration of 
immigrations and produce segregation and racism. 
 
Temporary Residence Permits/Family Reunification 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Center-Left leaders have been particularly critical of 
Bossi-Fini, claiming that it has not succeeded in either 
discouraging illegal immigration or effectively matching supply and 
demand for labor, and that it undermined family reunification. 
Minister of Social Solidarity Paolo Ferrero has said that the 
government will amend Bossi-Fini.  Interior Minister Giuliano Amato 
has announced he will introduce a new plan this fall to create 
temporary residence permits for immigrants in search of work who 
have family or NGO sponsors. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) On July 28, the Council of Ministers approved a measure to 
promote family reunification by simplifying procedures and extending 
 
ROME 00002191  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
entitlements to parents of legal immigrants.  The Center-Right 
criticized the change, arguing that the government had not planned 
for the consequences in terms of increased demands for welfare, 
senior citizen or child services. 
 
Outreach to New EU Member States 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) On July 21, the Prodi government decided to open Italy's 
borders to new EU member states (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, 
Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia and Hungary).  Workers from these 
countries now are exempted from residence permit requirements 
established at the time of their EU accession.  Italy is thus 
following the lead of the UK, Sweden and Ireland that have already 
guaranteed freedom of movement to citizens of these states.  The 
Prodi government's goal is to attract more culturally homogeneous 
immigrants who are eager to integrate into Italian society, and the 
initiative was supported by the Center-Right opposition. 
 
Voting Rights for Immigrants? 
----------------------------- 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Also under discussion is whether to give legal immigrants 
the right to vote in local elections.  Several municipalities last 
year proposed offering this right but the Council of Ministers did 
not agree.  In some cities like Rome, immigrants are allowed to 
elect non-voting members of the city council.  The Democrats of the 
Left (DS) party (the strongest party in the Prodi coalition) may 
introduce a bill in the fall to give immigrants the limited right to 
vote in local elections.  However, it would likely require amending 
the Italian constitution and would be controversial. 
 
Illegal Immigration: Still Growing 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶10.  (SBU) In the first half of 2006, 11,000 illegal immigrants 
washed up on Italy's shores, primarily via sea routes from Libya and 
the North African coast.  Most were deported, but not before they 
overwhelmed immigrant processing centers in and around Lampedusa. 
Minister Amato called on Deputy EC President Frattini for 
assistance; Frattini reportedly is exploring the possibility of 
speeding up implementation of joint EU-Libya patrols of the 
Mediterranean, scheduled to begin in September.  Italy-Libya 
discussions on how to enhance Libyan border controls continued this 
week in Rome. 
 
¶11.  (SBU) Comment:  The Prodi government has been surprisingly 
proactive on immigration issues since the May 2006 elections.  Faced 
with low economic growth, the second lowest birthrate in Europe and 
a shrinking supply of young workers in an aging, welfare-dependent 
society, they need to attract immigrants.  Labor trends show that 
Italy needs unskilled workers in all sectors, with growing demand 
for immigrants particularly to provide child and elder care.  In the 
short term, these reforms should double the number of legal 
immigrants within five-seven years and are likely to encourage 
continued illegal immigration.  However, Italy still needs to 
attract high-skilled professionals and reform Bossi-Fini to better 
match demand with labor supply. 
 
¶12.  (SBU) Comment continued:  Until recently, Italy has been a 
country of emigrants rather than immigrants, and its laws do not yet 
reflect new economic and global migration realities.  The 
citizenship changes, if enacted, would be a major step in proving 
that Italy is welcoming immigrants by providing a so-far lacking 
genuine prospect of citizenship.  The government, however, has yet 
to develop adequate national programs to provide immigrants with the 
language skills, job placement and housing assistance needed to 
support real integration. 
 
SPOGLI