Italy asks the European Union to help receive thousands of boat refugees – NRK Urix – Foreign news and documentaries

A state of emergency was declared in Lampedusa. The population of the island, which normally has a population of 6,600, has doubled in recent days. Several thousand refugees and migrants arrived by sea in less than a week.

People who come are traumatized and exhausted. They need food, a roof over their heads and medical assistance. This is what Matthew Saltmarsh, spokesman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, says.

“It is urgent to move people off the island, because resources and capacity here are very limited,” Saltmarsh said. According to Reuters.

Ten points

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni visited the island on Sunday. With her was the President of the European Union, Ursula von der Leyen. Meloni called on the European Union to bear responsibility for resolving the situation.

She said that the only way to deal with the problems seriously is to stop illegal travel.

Italy receives a large number of immigrants and refugees wishing to enter Europe. According to the news agency, about 127,000 people have arrived in the country so far this year Forget. That’s nearly double the number at the same time last year.

Von der Leyen presented the EU’s ten-point plan.

– The President of the European Union said: – We will decide who comes to the European Union, and under what conditions, not human smugglers.

Among the measures it put forward is intensifying surveillance at sea and in the air in order to overcome all migrant crossings in the Mediterranean.

The EU will also work for a faster return of migrants who have been refused asylum. In addition, it wants more legal ways for refugees to reach Europe.

She added that unregulated migration represents a European challenge that requires a European response.

It was shipped away

The boats arriving in Lampedusa come from Tunisia, According to the Associated Press. FMigrants and migrants arrived in barely seaworthy boats.

Since Lampedusa is closer to North Africa than mainland Europe, the island has become a popular target for people smugglers. AP writes. One of the reasons so many boats are arriving now is that the weather has been good.

Arrangements are usually made for Lampedusa to receive 400 refugees at a time. Now the Italian authorities have begun transporting refugees and migrants to Sicily and the mainland.

According to the report, local demonstrators appeared during Meloni and von der Leyen’s visit to Lampedusa. Reuters.

Meloni told the protesters that the Italian government was working to put solutions into practice. This includes 500 million euros in aid to Lampedusa.

– We are doing our best, Meloni said.

Meloni, who has been prime minister for nearly a year, went to the polls to control illegal immigrants.