French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni held discussions concerning the flow of illegal migrants in the Mediterranean Sea.
LCI Television reported that Macron promised during the meeting to dispatch his Interior Minister, Gérald Darmanin, to the capital city of Rome in the “upcoming days” to deliberate on the situation with his Italian counterpart.
The two leaders focused on “joint actions that can be undertaken in the Mediterranean waters” as part of measures Europe should take within the migration agreement to tackle long-term illegal migration flows.
Only two days ago, Italian authorities declared an emergency state on the island of Lampedusa following the arrival of over 7,000 migrants in recent hours – a number surpassing the island’s original population.
This influx has escalated tensions on the island, with police efforts to contain the migrants leading to skirmishes and confrontations with security forces.
In the same context, French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin convened an urgent meeting this Saturday, following another emergency meeting the previous day, to outline France’s action plan concerning the situation in Lampedusa.
Meloni recently announced that the nation would implement emergency measures to combat the unprecedented influx of undocumented migrants.
“The migratory pressure that Italy has been facing since the beginning of the year is unbearable. Neither Italy nor Europe can accommodate this number of people.”
Meloni also revealed that she had invited Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, to visit the island of Lampedusa to witness the “severity of the situation” firsthand.
Additionally, she has requested Charles Michel, the President of the European Council, to include the migration issue on the agenda for the European Union summit in October.
