2023-09-16 13:33:10
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, will visit the small Italian island of Lampedusa on Sunday, where thousands of migrants arrived this week, relaunching the thorny debate on the sharing of responsibilities within the EU.
Located less than 150 km from the Tunisian coast, Lampedusa is one of the first stopover points for migrants crossing the Mediterranean hoping to reach Europe. Every year during the summer, tens of thousands of them take to the sea on makeshift boats.
Ms von der Leyen will go there at the invitation of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, her spokesperson Eric Mamer announced on Saturday. An Italian official confirmed the visit, details of which are being finalized.
Between Monday and Wednesday, around 8,500 people, more than the entire population of Lampedusa, arrived aboard 199 boats, according to figures from the United Nations migration agency. The migrant reception center built on the island is designed for fewer than 400 people.
This migration crisis has been the subject of intense diplomatic activity for 48 hours.
Migrants held in a “hotspot” on the Italian island of Lampedusa, September 14, 2023
AFP
A conference call will bring together the French, Italian and German interior ministers, a representative of the Spanish presidency of the Council of the European Union and EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. (1:30 p.m. GMT). we learned from a French source.
The conference was proposed by French Minister Gérald Darmanin, who had already met on Friday morning with his Italian counterparts, Matteo Piantedosi, and German counterparts, Nancy Faeser.
“Unsustainable” pressure
Giorgia Meloni estimated Friday evening that the migratory pressure suffered by her country was “unsustainable” due to a “difficult international situation” mainly in Africa.
She asked Ursula von der Leyen to come and see for herself the situation on the ground and to the President of the European Council Charles Michel to put the migration issue on the agenda of the EU summit in October.
French President Emmanuel Macron defended a “duty of European solidarity” with Italy while Berlin has just suspended the voluntary reception of asylum seekers from this country due to “strong migratory pressure” and of Rome’s refusal to apply European agreements.
However, Germany also seems ready to extend a helping hand to Rome, under condition: the relocations planned by the “voluntary European solidarity mechanism” can be restarted “at any time if Italy fulfills its obligation to take back the refugees” in accordance with EU rules.
Migrants gathered in front of the Lampedusa reception center, September 14, 2023 in Italy
AFP
The President of the European Commission, with the strong support of Ms Meloni, signed an agreement with Tunisia in July to try to reduce the flow of migrants arriving from Tunisian coasts, in exchange for financial aid to this North African country. facing serious economic difficulties.
The League, the anti-immigration party of Matteo Salvini, a member of the ruling coalition, took issue with this agreement.
Due to a lack of space in the Lampedusa reception center, hundreds of people had to sleep outside, in the street, sometimes benefiting from the generosity of residents who brought them water and food.
A total of more than 127,000 migrants have landed on Italian shores since the start of the year, almost double compared to the same period in 2022.
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