LAMPEDUSA: France agreed on Friday to work with Italy to get European Union support to stem a migrant crisis that has overwhelmed the Italian island of Lampedusa.
The island, situated in the Mediterranean between Tunisia, Malta and the larger Italian island of Sicily, has become a first port of call for many migrants seeking to enter the EU. Around 7,000 have landed there this week, more than the island’s permanent population, overwhelming its ability to respond. French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters: “I want to say very sincerely to all our Italian friends that I believe it is the responsibility of the European Union, the entire European Union, to stand by Italy.”
His interior minister, Gerald Darmanin, tweeted that he had spoken to his Italian counterpart, adding: “We agreed to work together within the European Union in the coming hours to strongly reinforce the prevention of immigrant departures and the fight against people traffickers.”
The arrivals are a political problem for Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing government, which has pledged to control immigration. –Agencies
