Italy unveils migrant plan

Italy has called for migrant “protection centres” in other EU countries to relieve overcrowding and demanded more aid for African nations to tackle human trafficking.
Italy’s new government, which has rejected two migrant boats in the past fortnight, complains that Rome has been left to rescue tens of thousands of migrants a year in the Mediterranean and process their asylum claims.
Leaders from 16 EU countries expressed unity in Brussels on Sunday after an unorthodox meeting, boycotted by several member states, which was called to shore up the coalition government of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, which is divided by a row over migration.
But the east of the European Union refuses to discuss the idea of migrant quotas to reduce the burden on Greece, Spain and Italy.
Meanwhile, Italy and Malta have been trading insults over which nation was responsible for a boat of 234 migrants adrift in international waters after the NGO rescue mission Lifeline was refused permission to dock in Italy and Malta sent it back into Italian waters.
Maltese and Italian ministers argued on Twitter over which country was acting in a less humane way towards the ship.
In a 10-point plan presented to EU leaders meeting in Brussels yesterday, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte proposed sharing out the migrants. “Whoever lands in Italy, lands in Europe…..Schengen is at risk,” said the proposal, referring to Europe’s passport-free zone.
The 26-country border-free travel zone is seen as one of the EU’s crowning achievements.
Italy said the EU should be addressing the influx of migrants, not regulating the “secondary” movement of migrants among member states.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said the talks had been “frank and open” although they had not produced “any concrete consequences or conclusions”.
French President Emmanuel Macron said landings in Italy had fallen dramatically this year and the main issue was how to distribute people around the EU.
Italy said the Dublin rule, where asylum seekers are processed in the EU country in which they arrived, was no longer working. “The rescue obligation cannot become an obligation to process applications
on behalf of all,” the paper said.
“Italy and Spain cannot take everyone. Protection centres are needed in several European countries to safeguard the rights of those arriving and to avoid problems of public order and overcrowding,” it added.
Rome also called for “protection centres” in Africa and said other member states, like Poland and Hungary, that did not accept refugee quotas should face “financial sanctions”.
The long-planned gathering of all EU leaders on Thursday will now have to address the issue of migration. Hungary’s nationalist prime minister, Viktor Orbán, can be expected to repeat his fierce opposition to quotas.

The chaos of Libya has been partly responsible for the flow of migrants. Picture credit: Flickr