EU chief emphasises need for surveillance via sea and land as island of Lampedusa reports record arrivals.
The European Union has presented a plan for Italy to help it handle arrivals of migrants and refugees after a record number of people landed on its island of Lampedusa over the past week.
The surge in asylum seekers arriving on the Italian island has rekindled a fierce debate in Europe on how to share responsibility for the tens of thousands reaching the continent each year.
“Irregular migration is a European challenge and it needs a European answer,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said during a visit to Lampedusa on Sunday, offering a 10-point “action plan” to help Rome deal with the crisis.
She stressed that the better the EU gets at managing legal migration, the “stricter” it can be with irregular migration.
“We will decide who comes to the European Union and under what circumstances, and not the smugglers and traffickers,” von der Leyen said at a joint news conference with Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni.
The EU chief said she had already spoken to several EU leaders about the plan and was confident of their support.
It is very important for me to be in Lampedusa today.
I’m here to offer a coordinated response by the Italian and European authorities.
I would like to present to you a 10 point action plan ↓ https://t.co/p1KorMPEh4
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) September 17, 2023
“The most effective measure to counter the smugglers’ lies are legal pathways and humanitarian corridors,” von der Leyen said.
Far-right Italian leader Meloni had called on the European Commission president to view the migration crisis firsthand, after the tiny island’s local council declared a state of emergency this week.
Several thousand people have arrived on the island between Sicily and North Africa in recent days, leading to overcrowding at the reception camp.
There are currently three Frontex operations active…
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