Migrant crisis: EU chief and Italy's PM visit Lampedusa, promise swift action

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Sunday (September 17) addressed the burning migrant issue as she toured the Italian island of Lampedusa with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who is on a visit to the island to analyse the crisis.

Lampedusa is currently struggling with a surge in migrant arrivals and the leaders have promised a 10-point EU action plan to help Italy deal with the situation.

During their visit to the migrant reception centre, locals protesting over the burden facing the island blocked them briefly as people were angry over the additional burden on resources.

For instance, the Italian Red Cross, which runs the overcrowded Lampedusa migration centre, said Sunday that 1,500 migrants remained there despite having a capacity for just 400.

So far this year, nearly 126,000 migrants have arrived in Italy, which is almost double the figure by the same date in 2022.

The small island of Lampedusa has recently seen a sharp rise in the number of people arriving by boat, with more than 7,000 landings this week, more than the island's permanent population.

Meloni told the protesters, "We're working on it ... we are doing our best.

Meanwhile, Von der Leyen set out a 10-point "action plan" to relieve pressure on Italy, where most migrants arrive from north Africa's shores by boat.

"Irregular migration is a European challenge and it needs a European response, we are in this together. You can count on the EU," she said at a joint news conference with Meloni as she spoke in Italian.

What is the action plan?

Von der Leyen said her aid plan for Italy included increased support for the European Agency for Asylum (EUAA).The EU's Frontex border control agency to register new arrivals and repatriate those not eligible for asylum.

She vowed to ramp up the supply of equipment to the coastguard of Tunisia, currently the main departure point for sea migrants.

She also said the authorities will accelerate the transfer of funds to Tunis under a deal struck in July aimed at curbing migration.

Von der Leyen also vowed to increase access to legal channels for the migrants, saying that "the better we are with legal migration the stricter we can be with irregular migration".

(With inputs from agencies)

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