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BRUSSELS: EU chiefUrsula von der Leyen will visit the Italian island of Lampedusa with the country’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni this weekend after migrant arrivals surged, an EU official said Saturday.
Meloni has called on Brussels to help relieve the pressure after some 8,500 people landed by boats over three days this week on Lampedusa, just 90 miles (145 kilometres) off the coast of Tunisia.
An EU official confirmed von der Leyen’s impending visit to AFP but did not give details.
Officials on Friday transferred thousands of migrants from the tiny island to Sicily.
The spike in arrivals has rekindled the debate over how Europe shares responsibility for asylum seekers.
Lampedusa, Italy’s southernmost island, has long been a landing point for migrant boats from North Africa. But this week its migration centre — built for fewer than 400 people — was overwhelmed.
Between Monday and Wednesday, around 8,500 people — more than the entire local population — arrived in 199 boats, according to the UN migration agency.
Images of thousands of people sleeping in the open air, scaling the perimeter fence and wandering around the town sparked anger among members of Italy’s hard-right government.
Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini called the arrivals an “act of war”, and on Friday, Meloni urged the European Union to do more to help.
Von der Leyen — with Meloni’s strong backing — struck an agreement with Tunisia in July aimed at curbing the flow of irregular migration from the North African country.
Meloni has called on Brussels to help relieve the pressure after some 8,500 people landed by boats over three days this week on Lampedusa, just 90 miles (145 kilometres) off the coast of Tunisia.
An EU official confirmed von der Leyen’s impending visit to AFP but did not give details.
Officials on Friday transferred thousands of migrants from the tiny island to Sicily.
The spike in arrivals has rekindled the debate over how Europe shares responsibility for asylum seekers.
Lampedusa, Italy’s southernmost island, has long been a landing point for migrant boats from North Africa. But this week its migration centre — built for fewer than 400 people — was overwhelmed.
Between Monday and Wednesday, around 8,500 people — more than the entire local population — arrived in 199 boats, according to the UN migration agency.
Images of thousands of people sleeping in the open air, scaling the perimeter fence and wandering around the town sparked anger among members of Italy’s hard-right government.
Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini called the arrivals an “act of war”, and on Friday, Meloni urged the European Union to do more to help.
Von der Leyen — with Meloni’s strong backing — struck an agreement with Tunisia in July aimed at curbing the flow of irregular migration from the North African country.
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