International

EU Commission President visits Lampedusa to assess migrant crisis

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visited a crowded migrant reception centre on the Italian island of Lampedusa on Sunday, after Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called for EU assistance.

Over 8,000 migrants have arrived on the Italian island in the past three days.

Meloni said that Italy is under "unsustainable pressure."

On Saturday, the body of a newborn baby was recovered from a migrant boat. The mother is believed to have given birth during the journey from North Africa, according to the Italian news agency Ansa, and the death is under investigation.

The child's body was placed in a white coffin and taken to a cemetery in the Imbriacola district of Lampedusa, Italian media reported.

Earlier this week, a five-month-old boy drowned during a rescue operation off the island, after a boat carrying migrants across the sea from North Africa capsized.

Meloni is pushing for a naval blockade by the European Union to prevent boats from crossing the Mediterranean Sea to reach Italian shores.

The Italian Red Cross said on Saturday that it was dealing with about 2,500 people at a reception centre designed for 400 arrivals.

Volunteers and staff have provided thousands of meals throughout the week and have helped to transfer new arrivals to Sicily and elsewhere.

Nearly 126,000 migrants have arrived in Italy this year, which is about double the number recorded in the same period of 2022.

Meloni said that she is asking Ms. von der Leyen "to personally realise the gravity of the situation we are facing" and "to immediately accelerate" the implementation of an agreement with Tunisia.

Translation by Iurie Tataru

Carolina Străjescu

Carolina Străjescu

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