According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, more than 2,500 people have died or disappeared trying to cross the Mediterranean towards Europe in nine months this year. Meanwhile, this Thursday, September 28, an agreement for refugees in the European Union was postponed at the request of Italy, which seeks to tighten its migration policy.
First change: 09/29/2023 – 04:23
3 minutes
In 2023, the migration crisis in Europe appears to be reaching its peak. According to the United Nations Organization, the number reported on September 28 exceeds by two-thirds the number in the same period in 2022, with at least 1,680 people failing to cross the dangerous waters of the Mediterranean.
The international organization announced that Tunisia and Libya are the busiest departure points for sailing to the Mediterranean in 2023Around 102,000 migrants came from Tunisia and another 45,000 from Libya. Of these, 31,000 were rescued at sea and brought back to Tunisia, while 10,600 were again accommodated in Tripoli.
“The journey from West or East Africa and the Horn of Africa to Libya and the coastal starting points remains one of the most dangerous in the world (…). Lives are also lost on land, away from the public eye,” he explained. UNHCR Director Ruven Menikdiwela from the institution’s headquarters in New York.
A group of 61 migrants in a wooden boat are rescued by crew members of the Médecins Sans Frontières-operated refugee rescue ship Geo Barents in international waters off the coast of Libya in the central Mediterranean on September 28, 2023. © Portal / Darrin Zammit Lupi
On the other hand, Menikdiwela also presented the data of those migrants who have managed to set foot on European soil so far this year. More than 130,000 people were able to reach southern Europewho are hosted in countries such as Greece, Cyprus, Malta and Italy, the latter hosting 120,000 of the migrants.
Italy asks for more time to “examine” the EU migration proposal
As thousands of people continue to die in the Mediterranean every month while trying to escape the complex situation in their countries of origin, European states continue to fail to reach an agreement to deal with the crisis.
The foreign ministers of the 27 countries of the European Union met to reach an agreement on how to deal with the migration crisis currently facing the bloc. A meeting should emphasize how to distribute incoming migrants, mostly from Africa and the Middle East, so that countries like Italy do not find their accommodation systems overwhelmed.
Although nations like Germany supported the European Union’s proposed “crisis mechanism” to distribute arrivals among the group’s members, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani would have asked for more time to examine the proposal and analyze whether it corresponds to the interests of Giorgia Meloni’s government.
FILE – Migrants gather in front of the Lampedusa reception center on September 14, 2023 in Italy. © Alessandro Serrano / AFP/Archives
Some bloc officials remain optimistic. European Commissioner Margaritis Schinas declared that we are “closer than ever” to an agreement on the issue, while Ylva Johansson, the European Union’s home affairs commissioner, predicted that an “agreement” would be reached “in a few days.” official decision” regarding a new immigration program within the Union.
At the moment, European countries continue to pass the buck in their own pockets to deal with the crisis. As thousands of migrants continue to lose their lives at sea, those who arrive continue to struggle to find a safe place to rebuild their lives.
With AFP and Portal