BRUSSELS: In an urgent response to Italy’s escalating migrant arrivals, the European Union (EU) top official, Ursula von der Leyen, to visit the Italian island of Lampedusa. This move comes as Rome pleads for assistance from Brussels in managing the surge in migrant numbers.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is set to join Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Lampedusa, a small island located just 90 miles off the coast of Tunisia. The island has been grappling with an unprecedented wave of migrant arrivals, which has overwhelmed its migration-center, originally designed to accommodate fewer than 400 individuals. Over a span of just three days this week, roughly 8,500 people, surpassing the entire local population, arrived on Lampedusa aboard 199 boats, according to the UN migration agency.
Images depicting migrants sleeping in the open, scaling perimeter fences, and wandering the town have ignited outrage among members of Italy’s hard-right government. Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini even referred to the arrivals as “an act of war.” Prime Minister Meloni has implored the European Union to intervene and provide additional assistance, citing Italy’s unsustainable migratory pressure amid the “difficult international situation” in Africa as the underlying cause.
Meloni has called for von der Leyen’s visit to Lampedusa and requested that European Council President Charles Michel prioritize the matter at the EU summit scheduled for October. In July, von der Leyen, backed by Meloni, reached an agreement with Tunisia aimed at curbing irregular migration from North Africa. Tunisia remains a significant embarkation point for migrants attempting the perilous sea crossing to Europe each year.
This year, Italy has witnessed over 127,000 migrant arrivals on its shores, more than double the figures from the same period last year. Tragically, over 2,000 people have lost their lives this year attempting the perilous sea journey between North Africa, Italy, and Malta, according to the UN migration agency. The ongoing issue of mass migration is rapidly gaining prominence as a central political concern in several EU capitals, particularly with the European Parliament elections scheduled for next June.
Germany Declines Acceptance of Italy’s Migrants
In France, far-right factions are calling for the government to block any migrants arriving from Lampedusa at the border. This has prompted President Emmanuel Macron to appeal for European solidarity. Meanwhile, Germany has recently confirmed that it will no longer accept migrants living in Italy as part of a European solidarity plan aimed at alleviating pressure on EU border nations.
The EU is currently working to reform its rules on how to manage the thousands of migrants seeking entry into the continent. Southern countries such as Italy, Greece, and Spain, which bear the brunt of arrivals, have long urged other EU member states to share the burden. However, right-wing governments in Poland and Hungary staunchly oppose such an agreement.
