“The time has come for solidarity with Italy and also for the mobilization of the European Union,” declared Elisabeth Borne on BFMTV on Saturday September 16, as thousands of migrants arrived on the small Italian island of Lampedusa this week. The Prime Minister also announced that Emmanuel Macron would discuss the issue with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Europeans must not “leave Italy alone in the face of what it is experiencing,” said the President of the Republic on Friday, calling for “the responsibility of the entire European Union.” He also pointed out the “limits” of “strictly nationalist approaches”. Follow our live stream.
The Interior Minister speaks to his counterparts. According to the Interior Ministry, Gérald Darmanin spoke by telephone on Saturday with the Italian and German interior ministers about the arrival of thousands of migrants on the island earlier in the week. Germany had announced that it would no longer accept refugees from Italy and accused Rome of not complying with European agreements on this issue.
Von der Leyen will go to the island. The President of the European Commission announced a trip to Lampedusa for Sunday, accompanied by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. The far-right leader had invited the head of the European executive branch and denounced the “unsustainable” migration pressure on Italy.
An almost unprecedented influx. Between Monday and Wednesday, around 8,500 people arrived on 199 boats, according to the United Nations migration agency. This is more than the usual population of the island, whose reception center has fewer than 400 places. On Friday several thousand exiles were transferred to Sicily.