EU chief Ursula von der Leyen has pledged action to help Italy’s crisis-hit island of Lampedusa during a visit on Sunday, after the island was left struggling to cope with an influx of migrants.
Von der Leyen visited a migrant reception center on the island after the Italian Prime Minister called on European leaders to help more. Almost 130,000 migrants have arrived on Italian shores this year, nearly double the same period last year. Speaking alongside Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at a press conference, von der Leyen said, “We will decide who comes to the European Union and under what circumstances, and not the smugglers and traffickers.
” The European Commission president went on to say that “migration is a European challenge and it needs a European answer and solution.” Meloni said the “problem” of migrants crossing the Mediterranean to Europe cannot be solved by redistributing migrants within European borders, but rather requires tackling the problem externally and preventing the departure of migrants. Meanwhile, von der Leyen championed legal pathways and humanitarian corridors as measures to counter “smugglers’ lies.
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