Migrant numbers this week briefly surpassed the population of Lampedusa residents, who have been witness to countless tragedies.
| EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pledged the swift return of “irregular” migrants to their home countries and a crackdown on the “brutal business” of migrant smuggling on Sunday during a visit with Italy’s premier to a tiny fishing island overwhelmed with almost 7000 arrivals in a single day this week.
Ms von der Leyen vowed to crack down on “this brutal business” of migrant smuggling and help Italy cope with the spike in arrivals. But the 10-point plan appeared to stop short of a naval blockade, at least a quick one.She instead offered support for “exploring options to expand existing naval missions in the Mediterranean, or to work on new ones”.
“It is very important for me [to be here] because irregular migration is a European challenge, and it needs a European answer. So we are in this together,” Ms von der Leyen said.since coming to power last year, framed Ms von der Leyen’s visit as a “gesture of responsibility of Europe toward itself”, and not just a sign of solidarity with Italy.
The Italian government intended to soon activate a system for repatriating migrants who were not eligible to stay in Europe as part of measures to be decided during a cabinet meeting this week, she said.Save the Children expressed hopes that the visit by the two leaders would bring concrete responses, and called for a European structure to search for and rescue migrants in danger at sea.
Philippines Latest News, Philippines Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Italian PM warns migration an issue for all of Europe on Lampedusa visitFar-right Giorgia Meloni says crisis cannot be ‘just resolved within Italian borders’ on visit to island where 8,500 arrived in days
Read more »
Italy struggles to deal with migrant boats following a surge in arrivalsFacilities on the Italian island of Lampedusa are being overrun by thousands of migrants who have arrived by boat in recent weeks. It comes as Tanzanian authorities have arrested hundreds of migrants and people smugglers as they attempt to make their way to Europe. Lampedusa has recently become the brunt of crossing from Tunisia and is not the main migrant smuggling base, replacing Libya. Nearly 126,000 migrants have been reported to have arrived in Italy this year, almost doubling the figure in 2022. Migrants have had to be transferred to relieve the overstretched refugee centre, which has a normal capacity of around 400.
Read more »
Child killed as Italian jet explodes into a fireball after takeoffA jet from Italy&x27;s air force has crashed, sending burning debris onto a car with a family inside and killing a 5-year-old child.
Read more »
EU vows to help Italian island overwhelmed by influx of migrantsEuropean Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni travelled to the Sicilian Island of Lampedusa on Sunday to visit the port where thousands of migrants arrived this week, more than the island's permanent population. The two have pledged to tackle the issue…
Read more »
How cooking for other migrant women put Nada's signature dish in the spotlightNada Gamal El-Din works as a cooking instructor at a community hub in Melbourne designed to help new migrant women feel more settled in Australia.
Read more »