2023-09-17 15:36:44
Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, and Georgia Meloni, the Italian Prime Minister, traveled to Lampedusa on Sunday for a whirlwind two-hour visit. The opportunity to reaffirm their position: fight more once morest smuggling networks and increase the expulsions of migrants not eligible for asylum.
Charlotte Boitiaux, special correspondent in Lampedusa
It was a whirlwind visit. Two hours clocked in Lampedusa, 9 minutes precise in the hotspot. Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, and Giorgia Meloni, the Italian Prime Minister, came to visit, this Sunday, September 17 in the morning, the only reception center on the island, which currently has 1,500 migrants .
>> To (re)read: “Some have not changed their t-shirts since their arrival”: in Lampedusa, tension is at its height in the overcrowded hotspot
Their visit follows the exceptional arrival of around 10,000 exiles on the island this week, a little more than the local population of Lampedusa. An influx which caused scenes of chaos at the port and in the accommodation center. On Tuesday, at the height of the crisis, more than 6,000 people were welcomed into the structure, with an initial capacity of 400 places.
Live: Van der Leyen and Meloni arrive at the hotspot #Lampedusa. Quick visit to this overcrowded center, symbol of the migration crisis in the Mediterranean. In three days, 8,500 migrants arrived on the island (the equivalent of the local population) pic.twitter.com/oM1s3N7Jug
— Charlotte Boitiaux (@chaboite) September 17, 2023
The arrival of the two political leaders had been carefully prepared by the Italian authorities to try not to show anything of the tensions shaking the island. Missed. Residents unhappy with the presence of these thousands of exiles greeted the officials with shouts at the airport, threatening to block their procession.
In front of the hotspot, the atmosphere was calmer. From 9 a.m., cleaning teams were busy: water bottles, survival blankets, used clothing and all the plastic waste that was still littering the ground the day before were collected to make a clean space.
Migrants are kept away from the entrance to the hotspot this morning of September 17 because of the arrival of Von der Leyen and Meloni. Credit: InfoMigrants
Above all, to avoid any crowd movement and possible attack by politicians, migrants were not allowed to approach the front door of the reception center. This is where they are usually stationed during the day to wait for food distributions or transfers to the continent. A surprising calm reigned this Sunday morning, contrasting with the excitement of the last few days. “Sit down!”, however, shouted, in the distance, the police responsible for detaining them.
>> To (re)read: Lampedusa: four strong images following the influx of migrants on the Italian island
Nine minutes following entering the hotspot, Ursula Von der Leyen and Giorgia Meloni then came out to visit the port – where the exiles disembarked – and head back to the airport.
“Smugglers make millions of euros by lying to migrants”
“What is at stake here is the future that Europe wants to give itself,” declared the head of the Italian government before getting back on the plane, calling for better European coordination for the management of migrant arrivals. . Giorgia Meloni criticizes her European partners for the lack of solidarity towards Italy, which has welcomed nearly 130,000 people into its territory since the start of the year.
>> To (re)read: European solidarity put to the test by the migratory influx in Lampedusa
The President of the European Commission echoed him, saying that “irregular immigration is a European challenge which needs a European response”. Ursula Von der Leyen also proposed a plan to confront this emergency situation, consisting in particular of broadening the mobilization of Frontex to fight once morest smugglers, accelerating financial aid to Tunisia – the main country of departure on this migratory route – and to strengthen “legal immigration channels”.
It is very important for me to be in Lampedusa today.
I’m here to offer a coordinated response by the Italian and European authorities.
I would like to present to you a 10 point action plan ↓ https://t.co/p1KorMPEh4
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) September 17, 2023
“Smugglers make millions (of euros) on the backs of migrants by lying to them,” she said at a press conference before recalling that not all arrivals might stay on European soil. “People who are not eligible for asylum will have to return to their country of origin. It is not the traffickers who decide on entries into the European Union (EU), it is us.”
“We’re having difficulty getting out of this”
This unprecedented influx into Lampedusa has been the subject of intense diplomatic activity for three days. A conference call on Saturday brought together the French, Italian and German Interior Ministers, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs and a representative of the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU. Gérald Darmanin will go to Italy “in the coming days”, he said.
Migrant boats accumulate in the port of Lampedusa. They will be destroyed soon. Credit: InfoMigrants
The President of the European Council Charles Michel announced on Sunday that the question of immigration would be on the menu of two summits planned for October, and the head of Italian diplomacy, Antonio Tajani, said his intention to impose it on the agenda of the United Nations General Assembly next week in New York.
And this while sea crossings and arrivals in Lampedusa continue at a sustained pace: in the last 24 hours, 1,500 exiles have landed there, according to figures from soldiers met on the island. “This is unprecedented,” they said, on condition of anonymity. “We organize transfers, but every day, new arrivals enter the hotspot. It is difficult to get by,” they admit.
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