The national responses of some EU Member States to the environmental displacement crisis: a special reference to the Italian case

Abstract

The minimum standard nature of the Qualification Directive 2011/95/EU (recast) and the Temporary Protection Directive 2001/55/EC has allowed several Member States to maintain or introduce into their legislation provisions to protect foreigners arriving on their territory displaced by an environmental disaster. This is the case in Finland, Sweden, Italy and Cyprus. With the backward steps of Finland and Sweden, which have eliminated from their legislation any reference to these groups of displaced persons, and with the limitations of Cyprus’ legislation, which only provides for the non-refoulement of a refugee or beneficiary of subsidiary protection to a country that has suffered a natural disaster, Italy’s legislative Ddecree no. 286/1998 remains the only pioneer in this field, despite the legislative back-and-forth of recent years. This contribution analyses the immigration laws of these countries with regard to the formulas that allow displaced persons to reside and receive protection in their respective territories. Particular attention is paid to the Italian case, analysing the special protection for humanitarian reasons, provided by Art. 19, cc. 1.1 and 1.2, taking into account the recent jurisprudential developments of the Court of Cassation, in particular the order 5022/2021; the residence permit for calamity, regulated by Art. 20-bis, and the extraordinary reception measures for exceptional events, provided by Art. 20