From Le Figaro with AFP
Published 1 hour ago, updated 1 hour ago
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Rome also criticizes the fact that Berlin finances several aid organizations in the Mediterranean, some of which operate under the German flag.
NGOs that rescue migrants in the Mediterranean will have to land them in the countries whose flags their boats fly, particularly Germany, unless a better compromise is found on the status of these NGOs as part of the asylum and immigration pact declared in Malta on Friday Giorgia Meloni.
The Italian head of government rejects an amendment on the status and role of NGOs presented by Germany during Thursday’s vote in Brussels on the reform of the asylum and immigration pact. The text was adopted by the Twenty-Seven, but Italy expressed surprise at the late submission of the German proposals, expressed reservations and asked for time to think about it.
Also read: Macron met Meloni in Rome against the backdrop of the migration crisis
“Resign”
This amendment is “a step backwards” and “we therefore propose another amendment according to which the country responsible for receiving migrants transported on an NGO ship is the country flying the flag of that ship,” explained Giorgia Meloni to the press on the sidelines of a summit of the Mediterranean countries of the European Union in Malta. “We can’t play solidarity with other people’s boundaries,” she added. According to Italian media, the Italian amendment was rejected on Thursday by interior ministers who met behind closed doors in Brussels.
Rome accuses Berlin of financing several aid organizations in the Mediterranean, some of which operate under the German flag. Giorgia Meloni wrote to Chancellor Olaf Scholz this week to express her “astonishment” at these subsidies. According to a count carried out by AFP on Friday at maritime traffic monitoring sites, a ship belonging to the German NGO Sea-Watch is anchored in the port of the island of Lampedusa and five others are carrying out rescue operations off the coast. from the Libyan and Tunisian coasts. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Thursday defended the role of NGOs that help migrants seeking to enter Europe via Italy. “Saving people from drowning in the sea is a legal and European obligation,” she emphasized.
The leader of Giorgia Meloni, who came to power a year ago defending a staunchly anti-migrant agenda, believes the presence of humanitarian ships at sea is contributing to their influx. NGOs argue that they recover fewer than 10% of people who make the dangerous crossing, with the vast majority either arriving on their own or being picked up by the coast guard or Italian navy.