Interview: Ambassador Cristina Ravaglia
We also manage the foreign elections: voting for the parliamentary elections, as most recently in February of last year, and voting for the European elections last May, limited to Italians resident in the European Union. Also there will be, hopefully soon, the vote for the election of Comites.
Then we follow the assistance to compatriots abroad. Each year, about 10,000 cases of Italians that, for various reasons, need assistance from our overseas embassies or consulates coordinated by us here, keeping contacts with families and - where needed - with lawyers. Of these 10,000, about 3,400 people are incarcerated; there also are frequent situations of repatriation for health reasons. We also follow the judicial cooperation, including rogatoryletters and extraditions. Furthermore, we deal with the sensitive issue of
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includes two main areas of activity. The first is the one about visa: we manage and coordinate all visas issued to foreign nationals who want to enter Italy. Last year the number of applications for entry visa in Italy, a steadily growingnumber, was approximately two million and two hundred thousand: which means that every 15 seconds a visa has been issued. The figures are impressive: from the business of issuing visas, which has obviously a fee for foreigners, last year about € 104 million were received - not by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as perceptions go directly to the Ministry of Economy; in addition to money generated by tourism and trade (and employment) for our businesses.
Finally, the second activity in the area of migration policies concerns the bilateral and multilateral cooperation in the field of migration - for example, the landings in Lampedusa are responsibility of the Ministry of the Interior, but we are those who negotiate in different institutional environments with the countries from which these immigrants come - and some aspects of the delicate issue of international adoptions.
sensitive issue of contended children abroad. We follow the cultural activities in favor of the Italian community in the world. Finally, we support INPS in its relationship with Italian retirees abroad.
Funds for our actions have suffered significant cuts in recent years: today we are called to do much yet, but with much less. It has been a painful situation that led us to the necessity to rationalize our actions.
Then there is the part of the Migration Policy, which includes two main areas of activity.