Spanish minister attacks 'ostrich politics' in row over rescued migrants

Spain’s foreign minister has described his government’s decision to take in the hundreds of refugees and migrants aboard the Aquarius rescue ship as a “highly symbolic act” intended to jolt Europe out of its “ostrich politics” on the issue of migration.

The 629 people, including children and pregnant women, were rescued by the French NGO SOS Méditerranée from waters off the coast of Libya on Saturday, and the Aquarius was caught in a standoff over the weekend in which both Italy and Malta refused to allow it to dock.

Spain’s new prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, stepped in on Monday and said the ship would be welcome in the port of Valencia, insisting his country had a duty to help avert “a humanitarian catastrophe”.

On Tuesday the foreign minister, Josep Borrell, said Spain had very clear aims. “This is a shared problem and it has to be treated as a shared problem,” he said.

“What Spain has done is undertake what you could see as a highly symbolic act – because at the end of the day it only it involves a small number of people – that will oblige the EU to abandon its inability when it comes to dealing with the problem of migration.”

Borrell said the new government was “banging its fist on the table” ahead of a meeting of European leaders to discuss migration and asylum at the end of June.

“When you look at the demographic figures you realise that we Europeans are engaged in ostrich politics, sticking our heads in the sand and thinking they can’t see us because we can’t see them,” he said. “Things can’t go on that way any more.”

He denied Spain’s decision had handed victory to the new Italian government. “This is a victory for the people who are on the boat,” he said. “They’re the ones who have won because we don’t know where they’d be without Spain.”

He also dismissed suggestions that the move could bring more people across the Mediterranean, saying demographics and economics had already made Europe “a magnet”.

On Tuesday hundreds of the migrants and refugees aboard the Aquarius were being transferred to Italian coastguard and naval vessels to begin their journey to Valencia, despite pleas for them to be allowed to recuperate in the nearest port.

MSF applauded Sánchez’s offer of safe harbour but said the priority had to be the immediate disembarkation of the rescued migrants.

“MSF welcomes the important gesture of humanity from Spain to disembark in Valencia,” it said. “However, this would mean already exhausted people rescued at sea would have to endure four more days exposed to the elements on the deck, in an overcrowded boat already well over maximum capacity and in deteriorating weather conditions. The better option would be to disembark the rescued people in the nearest port, after which they can be transferred to Spain or other safe countries for further care and legal processing.”

The charity said it was particularly worried about several people who had swallowed seawater, had been treated for hypothermia or who had suffered severe chemical burns.

Sophie Beau, the head of SOS Méditerranée, said the Aquarius still had to travel 1,500km (930 miles) to Spain, adding: “It is starting to get tense onboard.”

In the meantime the Aquarius was unable to continue its usual rescue work off the coast of Libya, Beau said. “At this time the Aquarius, the biggest rescue boat in the Mediterranean, is going far from its rescue zone,” she said.

The Valencia regional government said it was expecting the migrants to arrive by the end of the week. Mónica Oltra, the region’s vice-president, said the Red Cross was preparing to provide shelter and medical assistance to people on arrival, and that other Spanish regions and cities had offered to provide longer-term support.

Italy’s refusal to accept the Aquarius was the first major anti-migrant move since the far-right interior minister, Matteo Salvini, took office this month.

Authorities on the French island of Corsica also offered to host the migrants, the morning after SOS Méditerranée suggested the Aquarius would not be able to reach Spain safely due to deteriorating weather conditions.

On Tuesday the Italian prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, hit back at sharp criticism from France over the saga, accusing Paris of being hypocritical, cynical and rigid.

“The statements around the Aquarius affair that come from France are surprising and show a serious lack of knowledge about what is really happening. Italy cannot accept hypocritical lessons from countries that have always preferred to turn their backs when it comes to immigration,” Conte’s office said.