Ursula Von Der Leyen And Giorgia Meloni Visit Lampedusa Island To Find Solutions For Migration Crisis

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni are on the Italian island of Lampedusa, which is at the center of Italy’s migrant crisis. Migrant reception centers are overcrowded. Just in one day, September 17, 160 people landed on the island’s shores after their boats were escorted to safety by the Port Authority and the Italian Guardia Fiscal. Other numerous groups of migrants are expected to arrive in the near future. In general, landings on the island increased several times in September, threatening the entire system of receiving migrants due to the reluctance of many European countries to take on the responsibility of hosting migrants that arrive in Italy. On Sunday morning (September 17), the Italian Red Cross, which runs the Contrada Imbriacola center in Lampedusa, said that about 1,500 people were already there, and new arrivals were expected. Note that the Italian population of the island is just over 6,100 people.
The situation is becoming increasingly unstable, and the Italian government has repeatedly asked pan-European authorities to take control of this phenomenon, to which von del Leyen agreed and, after arriving in Lampedusa, declared that “Italy can count on the European Union,” repeating that “this is a challenge to the entire Old Continent, which requires a response from the entire European community.”
“As you can see, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, immediately accepted the invitation to come here to familiarize herself with the situation in Lampedusa. I consider this not so much a gesture of solidarity towards Italy, but rather a gesture of Europe’s responsibility to itself, since the borders of Italy are the borders of Europe,” commented Giorgia Meloni, who then addressed words of gratitude to the inhabitants of the island.  “I thank the people of Lampedusa,” she said, “they are in a difficult situation. They are responsible, very good people. I was glad to meet them and chat. We are committed to improving living conditions on the island.”