Ministers will meet again on December 8 to continue the debate, as the European Commission warns that the crisis is fueling “populist and Eurosceptic forces”
European Union (EU) interior ministers this Friday approved a coordination plan to manage the arrival of immigrants, following a sour dispute between Italy and France over the receipt of a humanitarian ship. France convened this extraordinary meeting in Brussels after it “exceptionally” received 234 migrants rescued in the Mediterranean by the humanitarian ship ‘Ocean Viking’, to which Italy had closed its ports.
All sides called the meeting productive, but Czech Interior Minister Vit Rakusan, whose country holds the EU’s biennial presidency, said it was clear that “more can and must be done” to find a lasting solution to this find problem. to land. Ministers will meet again on December 8 to continue the “difficult debate”, he said.
“We cannot continue to operate, event after event, ship after ship, incident after incident, route after route,” European Commission Vice-President Margaritis Schinas said, recalling that past crises have been exploited by “populist and Eurosceptic forces”. European capitals have expressed their concern about the new waves, whether by sea route from North Africa or by land via the Balkans.
Some 280,000 people illegally entered EU territory in the first ten months of the year, 77% more than in the same period in 2021. Crossing the sea from the North African coast is often dangerous.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, stated that “with nearly 2,000 people already dead or missing this year, urgent action is needed.”
The EU has spent years negotiating a policy that would allow its 27 member states to share responsibility for hosting migrants, but the crisis between Italy and France brought the issue back to the table. The refusal to organize 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 let the ‘Ocean Viking’ disembark in a French port, but suspended an earlier agreement to take in 3,500 asylum seekers stranded on Italian soil. The plan adopted on Friday contains a series of twenty measures to improve coordination and prevent 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 views” had been reached allowing ministers to resume debate on December 8.
Source: La Verdad
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