When It Comes to EU Migration Policies, Italy Won’t Go Down Without a Fight

Far fewer asylum seekers are now knocking on Europe's door compared with the droves that flooded its borders just a few years ago. But thanks to Italy, the European Union is still grappling with immigration concerns. The Italian government recently threatened to stop registering migrants who arrive in its territory so that they can move to other parts of the Continent -- thereby violating the European Union’s Dublin Regulation, which establishes that migrants have to apply for asylum in the country where they first set foot. But despite facing possible sanctions for doing so, Italy's government is showing no signs of backing down, especially since its tough anti-immigration stance has continued to serve to its right-wing party's benefit at the polls. Thus, immigration will remain a central issue in Rome’s political agenda in the months ahead -- providing fodder for even more diplomatic disputes between Italy and Brussels, as well as other...