Ministers will meet again on December 8 to continue the debate, while the European Commission warns that the crisis feeds “populist and eurosceptic forces”
The interior ministers of the European Union (EU) approved this Friday a coordination plan for the management of immigrant arrivals, after an acid dispute between Italy and France over the receipt of a humanitarian ship. France convened this extraordinary meeting in Brussels, after having received “exceptionally” 234 migrants rescued in the Mediterranean by the humanitarian ship ‘Ocean Viking’, to which Italy had closed its ports.
All parties called the meeting productive, but Czech Interior Minister Vit Rakusan, whose country holds the EU’s biannual presidency, said it was clear that “more can and must be done” to find a lasting solution to this issue. problem that generates tensions between European countries. The ministers will meet again on December 8 to continue the “difficult debate”, he said.
“We cannot continue working event after event, ship after ship, incident after incident, route after route,” said the Vice President of the European Commission, Margaritis Schinas, recalling that previous crises were taken advantage of by “populist and Eurosceptic forces.” European capitals do not hide their concern about the new waves, whether by sea route from North Africa or by land through the Balkans.
In the first ten months of the year, some 280,000 people entered EU territory illegally, up 77% compared to the same period in 2021. Sea crossings from the North African coast are often dangerous.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, stated that “with almost 2,000 people already dead or missing so far this year, urgent action is needed.”
The EU has spent years negotiating a policy that allows its 27 member countries to share the responsibility for receiving migrants, but the crisis between Italy and France once again put the issue on the table. The refusal to host the ‘Ocean Viking’ was taken by the new Italian government of the far-right Giorgia Meloni. France described that decision as “unacceptable”, contrary to EU regulations.
He agreed to allow the ‘Ocean Viking’ to disembark in a French port, but suspended a previous agreement to welcome 3,500 asylum seekers stranded on Italian territory. The plan adopted this Friday presents a series of twenty measures to improve coordination and avoid new crises of this type.
Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi downplayed the ‘Ocean Viking’ incident, stating that the meeting “did not discuss individual cases or operational management.” And he assured that a “convergence of positions” was reached that allowed the ministers to resume the debate on December 8.
#approves #migration #coordination #plan #tensions #France #Italy