ITALY’S INTERIOR MINISTER TELLS LIBYA TO ‘STOP MIGRANTS ON SOUTHERN BORDER’
▶ Matteo Salvini arrives in Tripoli urging creation of asylum reception centre to stem flow of displaced into Europe
Matteo Salvini used his first foreign visit as Italy’s Interior Minister to demand that Libya sets up an asylum reception centre on its southern border, to stem the flow of migrants into Europe.
In a demonstration of the political priorities of Italy’s new government, Mr Salvini vowed to tackle the issue of “undercover illegal immigration” during talks with senior officials in Tripoli.
He said a reception centre would help stop Libya from becoming a funnel for migrants seeking to travel to Europe and described the current situation as an emergency, despite the number of people trying to escape war and hardship in Africa and the Middle East falling dramatically since 2015, the height of the crisis.
“The Italian government will uphold the need to protect the frontiers to the south of Libya, because neither Libya nor Italy can be alone in shouldering the burden of illegal immigration,” he said during a news conference with Ahmed Maiteeq, Libya’s Deputy Prime Minister.
The EU is making plans to set up screening centres in North African countries including Libya, Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt.
Italy had struck a deal with Libya in 2016 to stem the numbers of people trying to make the crossing to Europe from its Mediterranean coast. Under the deal – endorsed by the EU – Italy trained and financed the Libyan coastguard to intercept vessels and return migrants.
The Libyan coastguard picked up nearly 1,000 African migrants on inflatable boats and recovered 10 bodies in a series of operations on Sunday, said Libyan officials. Nearly 2,000 mainly African migrants have been brought back to Libya in the past week.
While the Libyan authorities have been accused of torture, imprisonment and slavery of those seeking to flee to Europe, Mr Salvini, however, promised to help the country assert control over its territorial waters, in a snub to foreign rescue ships operating in the area.
Mr Salvini said he would convey the message to Europe “that Libya is not a problem but a great opportunity”.
The short visit to Libya followed an emergency weekend summit on migration hosted by the EU, which was overshadowed by a dispute between Mr Salvini and the French President, Emmanuel Macron. Mr Salvini described Mr Macron as arrogant and told him to “stop the insults” after the French leader demanded that countries be financially penalised for refusing to take migrants.
Mr Macron’s comments were prompted by the Italian government’s refusal this month to allow a rescue ship, the Aquarius, carrying more than 600 people rescued from the Mediterranean, to dock at its ports. It later landed in Spain.
The French leader said the turmoil over migration was politically driven. To date only 42,000 people have arrived by sea this year – with Italy and Spain receiving more than 16,000 – compared with the more than one million migrants who arrived in Europe in 2015, the UN says.
After the controversy over the Aquarius, a second ship, the Dutch-flagged Lifeline with 230 migrants on board, was stranded in international waters yesterday after Malta and Italy disagreed over who was responsible for taking in the migrants.
Countries such as Italy and Greece, whose shores are primary landing points for the bulk of migrants, have long complained that the EU is not doing enough to share the load.
Italy had proposed a quota system but right-wing governments in countries such as Hungary, Poland and Austria have railed against taking in any more people.
Italy is seeking to scrap what it calls obsolete rules and it wants to end the stipulation that the country rescuing migrants is also the one that processes their asylum claims.
European leaders will meet this week to agree a new border deal but the weekend mini-summit revealed the extent of divisions within the 28-member bloc. An agreement is unlikely.
The discussions have implications across Europe, with populist coalition partners of Angela Merkel seeking some form of deal on migration with the prospect of her coalition breaking up over the threat.
EU leaders will meet this week to agree a new border deal but the weekend mini-summit revealed the extent of divisions within the bloc