Hundreds of migrants are again in distress south-east of Sicily. EPP boss Manfred Weber is now making a clear demand on the EU.
In view of the increasing number of refugees via the Mediterranean route, EPP boss Manfred Weber (CSU) is calling for negotiations to be started with Tunisia on a refugee pact based on the model of the Turkey agreement. The EPP wants to request a debate on the subject in the European Parliament on Monday, reported the “Bild” newspaper.
“The EU is sleepwalking into a new migration crisis, although the rapidly increasing migration pressure is obvious. In Italy, over 300 percent more migrants arrived in the first three months of this year than last year,” Weber told the newspaper.
The EPP boss called for more European solidarity: “Italy has already declared a state of emergency – and the other EU countries are looking the other way. We must not leave Italy alone,” said Weber.
Weber: The EU must negotiate with Tunisia immediately
The “Bild” newspaper quoted from a report by the EU border protection agency Frontex, according to which the previous year’s number of 330,000 migrants could already be reached in the summer this year. According to the report, Tunisia has now replaced Libya as the main transfer country: 57 percent of the migrants arriving in Italy boarded the smuggler boats there.
The EU must “immediately negotiate a migration pact with Tunisia,” Weber demanded. “Similar to the Turkey agreement, the trafficking gangs must be stopped together.”
Border protection and controls as well as the rejection of illegal migrants should “finally work”. For this, the EU Commission must quickly negotiate new repatriation agreements. Hundreds of thousands of illegal migrants are obliged to leave the country, but remain in the EU because their home country does not take them back.
Italy’s coast guard rescues hundreds of migrants from fishing boat
The Italian coast guard has rescued hundreds of migrants in the Mediterranean from a distressed fishing boat. The operation took place south-east of Sicily in the Maltese search and rescue zone and under difficult weather conditions, as reported by the Italian news agency Ansa. Around 600 people were brought ashore.
According to the Italian Interior Ministry, more than 32,700 migrants have already arrived in Italy by sea this year. Many dare to cross from North Africa to Europe on unseaworthy boats, which is why there are always accidents with many deaths. Because of the large number of migrants who recently reached Italy, the government in Rome declared a state of emergency a few days ago in order to provide money for accommodation, for example, to particularly affected regions in the south.
