"We committed ourselves to try and provide them with better conditions for this island.
Meloni and von der Leyen praised the people of Lampedusa for their handling of the situation. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said the 'challenge of the massive flow of immigrants' must be addressed at a pan-European level Image: Cecilia Fabiano/LaPresse/AP/dpa/picture alliance Lampedusa cannot be the only one dealing with migrants," one local resident told DW. We want to help but Europe should be involved too. "We feel like we have to be responsible for the millions of young children and women arriving here or dying at sea. On the eve of Meloni's arrival, some residents also held a demonstration against plans by Red Cross Italy to construct an additional migrant reception center. So we can't get scared of people and we need to help."īut some locals are also livid over the government's handling the situation. We used to also travel from north to south. "When I saw I thought about how I would have felt if they were my sons crying and asking for food," Antonello's mother told DW. Meanwhile, for locals, like Antonello di Malta and his mother, helping people should be the heart of any deal. Residents feel left alone to shoulder a heavy burden I really don't see at the moment a political will to change this approach," he told DW. "The situation in Lampedusa is the tragic evidence of this failure. The European Commission has not yet paid out the €100 million ($106.6 million) included in the deal and EU officials have told journalists that "it is a work in progress." On Saturday, Tunisian police at the port of Sfax, one of the main points of departure, arrested hundreds of migrants and began cracking down on people smugglers.Īccording to Roberto Forin, deputy director of the Mixed Migration Centre, a migration research think tank, the current European approach to migration simply is not working. The EU has already signed a deal with Tunisia in July to help put an end to migration from North Africa. Meloni and the EU officials witnessed a relatively orderly state of affairs, very different to the situation a day earlier Image: Adrian De Loore European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas would also be sent to some of the migrants' countries of origin to negotiate ways of managing migration and returns. "Migration is a European challenge and will receive a European solution," von der Leyen said.Īs part of the plan, the European Union Asylum Agency (EUAA) and the European Border and Coast Guard (Frontex) will be deployed to Italy to manage new arrivals. During her visit, the European Commission president announced a 10-point action plan for Lampedusa. Over the past few days, Italian authorities, including the mayor of Lampedusa, have voiced concerns that the country has been left to deal with the crisis on its own. "If somebody here in Europe were to think that this crisis that we are tackling and facing could just be solved within Italian borders, then it would be a very big and huge mistake," she said at a press conference at Lampedusa airport, after her visit to the center. Meloni, of the far-right Brothers of Italy party, stressed that the "challenge of the massive flow of immigrants" must be addressed at a pan-European level. We had almost 9,000 people here, but now they have started moving people elsewhere." 10-point action plan for Lampedusa "If you don't fight, you don't have food. "The situation in the center is not too good because it's too crowded to even get food," a young female arrival from Sierra Leone told DW. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video EU chief, Italian PM visit Lampedusa amid migrant surge
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