France is not ready to take in some migrants who have recently arrived on Italy’s southernmost island of Lampedusa. But Paris wants to help its neighbour Rome to impede illegal migration.
According to the Italian news agency ANSA, French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said this ahead of his visit to Rome.
When asked whether France was planning to take back some of the latest wave of migrants from Italy, he answered negatively.
“No, France has no plans to do that. France wants to help Italy control its borders to prevent new people from arriving. It would be a mistake to assume that migrants arriving in Europe should be immediately distributed among countries,” Gérald Darmanin said, adding that France plays a vital role in accepting asylum seekers.
Since spring, Lampedusa has become the primary “gateway to Europe” for people trying to enter the EU from Africa due to the island’s proximity to the Tunisian coast. Recently, thousands of migrants have been arriving in Lampedusa every day.
Due to the worsening situation, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, visited the island and announced a ten-step plan to resolve the migration crisis.
The Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, said that “the future of Europe is at stake in the migration crisis”.
