The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the head of the Italian government, Giorgia Meloni, arrived this Sunday on the Italian island of Lampedusa, where immigrants are still disembarking, exacerbating the migration crisis on the island.
The arrival of Von der Leyen and Meloni was met with protests from residents of the island.
“We are doing everything we can,” Meloni said upon arrival, adding that he takes “personal responsibility.”
Following the arrival of more than 10,000 migrants in Lampedusa in just three days (more than the population of the nearest island in Africa), Meloni wrote a letter to the President of the European Commission on Friday asking him to visit the island “to understand personally the seriousness of the situation.”
The head of the Italian government warned that the migration pressure on her country is unsustainable.
Giorgia Meloni and Ursula von der Leyen visit the port where dozens of boats carrying migrants, usually departing from Tunisia and Libya, moor.
I want to be very clear:
We have an obligation as part of the international community.
We have complied with this in the past, and we will continue to do so.
But we will decide who comes to Europe and under what circumstances, and not the smugglers. pic.twitter.com/E3jt1mf3QE
– Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) September 17, 2023
The Italian Red Cross, which manages the Lampedusa reception center, said this There are still 1,500 migrants there, for a capacity of 400 peopleas transfers to Sicily and the mainland do not fully compensate the newcomers.
Speaking to the press, Ursula von der Leyen stated that “irregular immigration is a European challenge that needs a European response”. At his side, Giorgia Meloni, the Italian Prime Minister, said at the same press conference: “that the future of Europe takes place on the island of Lampedusa” and that it “depends on Europe’s ability to meet the major challenges”, the case of migration flows.
On the social network X (formerly Twitter), Ursula von der Leyen also said that the European Union, as part of the international community, “has an obligation”. “We will be the ones to decide who arrives in Europe and under what circumstances, and not the traffickers,” he stressed.
Large ships of non-governmental organizations, such as Geo Barrents of Doctors Without Borders, which rescued almost 500 migrants in 11 operations on Saturday (more than 200 smaller ones), are heading directly to the main Italian ports.
However, dozens of small boats continue their crossing of the Mediterranean, arriving directly in Lampedusa, where the migrant management system is on the brink of suffocation.
More than 1,000 migrants have arrived in Lampedusa in the past few hours and it is estimated that more than 10,000 people arrived in just three days last week, more than the island’s population.
Source: DN
