“The time has first come for solidarity with Italy, and also for the mobilization of the European Union,” Elisabeth Borne declared on Saturday as thousands of migrants arrived this week on the small Italian island of Lampedusa.
The Prime Minister also indicated on BFMTV that Emmanuel Macron was going to discuss the issue with the head of the Italian government Giorgia Meloni, without further details.
“When we have freedom fighters, people whose lives are threatened in their country, obviously, we must continue to welcome them,” argued Elisabeth Borne, interviewed on the sidelines of the heritage days in Matignon.
“Then, we must also see the concern that there may be (…) to see these waves of migrants arriving. We must respond to all of these situations,” she added .
Between Monday and Wednesday, around 8,500 people, more than the entire population of Lampedusa, arrived aboard 199 boats, according to figures from the United Nations migration agency. The migrant reception center built on the island is planned for fewer than 400 people.
This migration crisis has been the subject of intense diplomatic activity for 48 hours.
Emmanuel Macron defended a “duty of European solidarity” with Italy while Berlin has just suspended the voluntary reception of asylum seekers from this country due to “strong migratory pressure” and the refusal of Rome to apply European agreements.
A conference call brought together the French, Italian and German Interior Ministers on Saturday afternoon in Paris.
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, will travel to Lampedusa on Sunday, at the invitation of Georgia Meloni who, at the head of a right-wing and far-right coalition, denounces migratory pressure. unsustainable” for his country.
16/09/2023 17:54:06 – Paris (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
