ROME: Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni has expressed her determination to implement “extraordinary measures” in response to a significant influx of refugees.
This decision follows a week during which over 6,000 individuals arrived within a day on the island of Lampedusa from Tunisia.
Meloni has extended an invitation to the head of the European Commission to visit Lampedusa alongside her, providing a firsthand view of the challenging conditions. She is advocating for a new migration deal between the European Union and Tunisia to be swiftly put into action.
In a video released by her office, Meloni emphasized the need for a “paradigm change” in Europe’s approach to cope with various factors in Africa, including conflict, instability, escalating grain prices, and climate crises. She cautioned that these elements could drive millions of people to undertake perilous journeys to Europe.
Italy and Europe cannot bear the burden of this massive influx of people, particularly when these migrant flows are orchestrated by unscrupulous traffickers, she stated.
Lampedusa, situated closer to Africa than the Italian mainland, has grappled with an overwhelming surge of individuals hoping to reach Europe from Tunisia, now the primary hub for refugee smuggling operations in the Mediterranean, surpassing Libya.
The Italian Red Cross reported the transfer of approximately 700 new arrivals from Lampedusa on Thursday, with plans for an additional 2,500 transfers on Friday to alleviate the strain on the island’s refugee centre. This facility, designed for around 400 people, was accommodating about 3,800 individuals as of Friday morning, a substantial reduction from the 6,000 registered earlier in the week.
Despite an EU-inked accord with Tunisia aimed at curbing smuggling operations in exchange for economic aid, the influx has persisted, prompting Meloni to call for the concrete implementation of the accord and the prompt transfer of promised EU funds to Tunis.
With the upcoming European Parliament election next year, Meloni’s conservative coalition partner, the League Party, has escalated criticism of the EU-Tunisia deal, asserting its failure given the escalating numbers of refugees.
Meloni has proposed a series of stringent measures to counter refugees and traffickers, to be discussed at an imminent Cabinet meeting. She cautioned potential refugees that if they enter illegally, they would be detained and repatriated due to the challenging circumstances Italy is facing.
League leader Matteo Salvini is set to host French far-right leader Marine Le Pen at a rally, with French far-right politician Marion Marechal also expressing support for Italy and urging a change in EU policy to aid the Italian government in managing this crisis.
According to Interior Ministry statistics, almost 126,000 individuals have arrived in Italy by boat this year, marking a notable increase compared to the same period in previous years. If this trend persists, 2023 could approach the record set in 2016, emphasizing the urgent need for proactive and coordinated responses to handle this mounting challenge.
