Defending Europe's Borders: From Channel Boats to the 'House Guest' Test

A CPAC UK panel with Matt Schlapp, Carlo Fidanza, Declan Ganley, Georgiana Teodorescu and others compares Italy's crackdown, Ireland's asylum numbers, and a simple home-guest analogy.

Day 1's first panel, "Defending Europe's Borders," brought together American Conservative Union chair Matt Schlapp with MEPs Carlo Fidanza and Georgiana Teodorescu, Irish entrepreneur Declan Ganley, and French security analyst Thibault de Montbrial.

Fidanza described Italy's shift away from open-border ideology toward stopping illegal migration and fighting smugglers — while blaming activist NGOs and "ideological judges" for blocking returns. Ganley said more than 90% of asylum applications in Ireland fail, calling the country "treasure Ireland" for claimants.

Teodorescu's standout soundbite likened national borders to a household: if you invite a guest who breaks the rules of your house, are you entitled to ask them to leave? The panel repeatedly pointed to Trump's southern-border closure as proof that political will matters.