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 continue to disembark, aggravating the migration crisis on the island.
The arrival of von der Leyen and Meloni was met with protests from the island’s residents.
“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 to Lampedusa (more than the population of the nearest African island) in just three days, Meloni wrote a letter to the president of the European Commission on Friday asking her to visit the island “to personally understand the seriousness of the situation.”
The head of the Italian Government warned that the migratory pressure on her country is unsustainable.
The Italian Minister of the Interior, Matteo Piantedosi, and the European Commissioner for the Interior, Ylva Johansson, also participate in this Sunday’s visit.
Giorgia Meloni and Ursula von der Leyen visit the port where dozens of boats carrying migrants dock, most of the time from Tunisia and Libya.
The Italian Red Cross, which manages the reception center in Lampedusa, stated that there are still 1,500 migrants there, for a capacity of 400 people, as transfers to Sicily and the mainland do not fully compensate for the new arrivals.
Large ships from non-governmental organizations, such as the Geo Barrents of Doctors Without Borders, which rescued almost 500 migrants on Saturday in 11 operations (more than 200 smaller ones), are heading directly to the main Italian ports.
However, dozens of small boats continue their journey through the Mediterranean and arrive directly at Lampedusa, where the immigration management system is on the verge of suffocation.
More than 1,000 immigrants arrived in Lampedusa in the last few hours and it is estimated that in just three days last week more than 10,000 people arrived, more than the population of the island.
Although the numbers always evolve, since the beginning of the year it is estimated that more than 127,000 immigrants have landed in Italy, almost double that of the same period in 2022 and triple that in 2021, according to updated data from the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Inside.
Source: TSF
