Italian parliament to mull UN migration pact

By Senhan Bolelli

MADRID

The Italian government announced Wednesday that it will not sign the UN’s landmark agreement on migration until the parliament makes a decision.

"The Global Migration Compact is a document that raises issues and questions that many citizens have strong feelings about. Therefore, we consider it right to put the debate in parliament," Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said.

Also, addressing lawmakers in the parliament, Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said the Italian government will not go to Morocco on Dec.10-11 where the agreement will be formally adopted at an international meeting.

The agreement was concluded in July after two-year-long discussions among member states.

The legally non-binding agreement aims at making migration more orderly and safer around the world.

Europe’s populist governments in Austria, Poland and Hungary, and several other countries including the U.S., Israel and Australia have recently announced that they would not sign onto the pact, claiming that it could undermine their sovereignty and immigration policies.