Italy’s PM calls on European allies to help with migrant crisis

Berlin, June 30 (IANS): Italy’s Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni called on his European allies to help alleviate the pressure his country faces amid an influx of migrants arriving on Italian shores from across the Mediterranean.

Gentiloni was in Berlin for a meeting with his fellow European G20 leaders on the invitation of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Efe news reported.

“The message does not come from a country that wants to break the rules or abandon its humanitarian position; it’s a country under pressure that requests direct contributions from its European allies,” Gentiloni said.

He detailed the emergency situation in Italy and warned that an increase in the migrant influx could bring the country’s capability to take in more refugees into question.

The Prime Minister thanked the panel for their understanding and solidarity regarding the matter and said he hoped they could find concrete solutions.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said Italy and Greece could not be left to deal with the migrant crisis alone, adding that all nations should combine their efforts.

French President Emmanuel Macron, for his part, told Gentiloni that France would fulfill its commitments with regard to refugee intake but warned that 80 percent of people arriving on Italy’s southern shore were not necessarily refugees, but economic migrants.

Gentiloni criticized the fact that EU coastguard missions in the Mediterranean would only bring migrants found at sea to shore in Italy.

He said it was a contradiction and requested that the role of NGO ships and Frontex, the EU’s coastguard and border agency, be analyzed.

Around 70,000 migrants have arrived on Italian shores so far in 2017.