2023-09-16 01:02:36
Foreign migrants on Lampedusa
Meloni calls for EU action to block the Mediterranean route
As of: 03:02 a.m. | Reading time: 2 minutes
Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni
Source: dpa/Szilard Koszticsak
Italy’s head of government Giorgia Meloni sees the EU as having a duty to use the navy to stop boats from smugglers and migrants if necessary. To understand the seriousness of the situation, Meloni invited EU Commission President von der Leyen to Lampedusa.
After the arrival of more than 9,000 migrants on Lampedusa within a week, the political debate is heating up. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called on Friday for help from the European Union to stop migrants from crossing the Mediterranean. If necessary, the navy must be deployed to prevent migrant boats from leaving, she said in a video message.
In the video, Meloni promised tough action against the increase in arrivals, especially on the small island of Lampedusa. She also said she had asked European Council President Charles Michel to put the issue of immigration on the agenda of the EU summit in October.
Meloni also invited EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (CDU) to Lampedusa. The EU politician should visit the Mediterranean island together with Meloni “in order to personally become aware of the seriousness of the situation in which we find ourselves,” said the Prime Minister.
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So far this year, almost 126,000 migrants have reached Italian shores, almost twice as many as at the same time in 2022. A state of emergency has been declared in Lampedusa in view of the massive arrival of migrants.
The island is overwhelmed by migrants; in the last two days alone, around 7,000 people from North Africa have arrived in puny boats, Mayor Filippo Mannino complained on radio “RTL 102.5” on Thursday. The people of Lampedusa have always welcomed the migrants with open arms. “But now we have reached a tipping point and the island is in crisis.”
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