The Protection System for Asylum Seekers and Refugees (Sistema di Protezione per Richiedenti Asilo e Rifugiati, or SPRAR) is a reception system created under the Bossi-Fini Law. The aim of SPRAR is to facilitate the reception of asylum seekers and the protection of refugees and foreigners who have been granted other forms of protection in Italy. It is based on multi-level governance that involves local authorities and the central government, through the Minister of the Interior. It also involves well-established third-sector organisations.

Funding has been suspended

SPRAR has achieved excellent results so far in Italy. These successes are thanks to the easy allocation of considerable funds to the system, which have usually been provided without major delays. However, SPRAR is now facing funding difficulties. Since July 2018, the existing financing for the system has not been renewed, while the ranking list of new SPRAR projects proposed by municipalities – which was expected to be published on 1 July – has not been issued yet. Across Italy, concerned municipalities and third-sector organisations have asked the Government for the funding for their projects to be renewed. In reply, the Government has claimed that no funds are currently available. This suspension of funding is particularly worrying, as it will probably lead to further delays in the disbursement of funds that are in arrears.

Authorities refuse to answer request for an explanation

Matteo Biffoni, mayor of Prato (Tuscany) and representative for immigration of the National Association of Italian Municipalities (Associazione nazionale comuni italiani, ANCI) reported that he had received no answer when he requested further information and proposed discussing the issue with the authorities. Mario Morcone, current director of the humanitarian organization Italian Refugee Council (a member of CILD) commented: "This is not matter of right or left, it’s not about one government or the other, and I do not even think that it is a matter of solidarity or humanity. It is a technical question: the non-renewal of existing projects, and the failure to publish the ranking list of new SPRAR projects and the new call for tenders is causing enormous damage to communities. In fact, this failure of the authorities is leaving those who are currently being hosted within the SPRAR system behind, increasing their marginalization from society and eventually causing an increase in social unrest".

System being “attacked from within”

Morcone has pointed out that when he was working for the Italian Minister of the Interior, many people came to Italy from across the European Union to understand and study the Italian reception system, which was considered an example of good practice. He thinks that it is a mistake to “attack from within” a system that is deemed an example across Europe, putting the future of the reception system in Italy at risk. But what is more concerning is that the current situation is the result of powerful propaganda that often leads to confusion and does not distinguish between people who have just reached Italy, those entitled to protection and those who are in Italy as a result of different migration flows. The more this kind of propaganda develops, the more difficult it becomes to overcome it. For this reason, Morcone has urgently called on the Italian Minister of the Interior, Matteo Salvini, to meet representatives of the National Association of Italian Municipalities to come to an understanding about solutions that can work for the SPRAR system.