Immigration and European policies: debate in Italy during the 1980s

The article analyses the Italian debate on immigration in the 1980s and relates it to the progressive Europeanisation of the country. In the 1980s, political debate on foreign immigration evolved in Italy, as indeed it did elsewhere. The nature of this debate was influenced by the international affiliations of whomever happened to be addressing the issue. At the same time, supranational (in particular European) levels of political intervention on migration became ever more evident. During the 1980s Italy's focus on emigration started to be supplanted by immigration. Unlike with emigration, debate and government action in Italy followed an irregular course. Indeed, until 1989, the issue was a low priority on political parties' agendas and government action; it was left to social movements and trade unions, from the early 1980s onwards, to champion the centrality of a European approach.