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The EU will not allocate new funds for immigrants in Italy
Mariana Andrei - Communication Coordinator
11 July 2014
Cecilia Malmström, the EU's Home Affairs Commissioner, recently declared that no new funds will be allocated to help Italy cope with its current influx of migrants. The announcement came after 30 dead immigrants were found in the hold of a fishing boat on a route connecting Sicily to the North African coast.
Their deaths have sparked anger and frustration in Italy and abroad, including from German President Joachim Gauck, who urged assistance for Italy. Besides, several calls for more EU help have been made by the Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and the Minister of Interior, Angelo Alfano, in recent months.
A doctor declared in The Local that the migrants had "likely suffocated" in the tiny space, as it was not yet clear whether there were any poisonous gases in the hold. In another statement, the navy said some of the migrants may have drowned, though this has not been confirmed.
It is not the first time that Italian rescue teams find dead migrants in overcrowded boats, but there have never been so many bodies. Last week, Italian authorities saved more than 1,600 immigrants, while the total number of migrant arrivals in Italy this year reaches about 60,000. Italians expect this year's migrant arrivals to exceed the 2011 record, when, due to the "Arab spring" uprisings, 63,000 people came to Italy by sea.
Since last October, after the two disasters in Italy's territorial waters, the Italian navy launched the Mare Nostrum operation to intercept migrant boats. Countless lives have already been saved, but, lacking the necessary infrastructure, local authorities in coastal Sicily are overwhelmed by the large number of immigrants constantly arriving, for whom they need to ensure basic living conditions. In this situation, Italy alone lacks the resources to cope with this influx and needs EU and UN support.
Sources: http://www.thelocal.it
http://www.theguardian.com
Their deaths have sparked anger and frustration in Italy and abroad, including from German President Joachim Gauck, who urged assistance for Italy. Besides, several calls for more EU help have been made by the Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and the Minister of Interior, Angelo Alfano, in recent months.
A doctor declared in The Local that the migrants had "likely suffocated" in the tiny space, as it was not yet clear whether there were any poisonous gases in the hold. In another statement, the navy said some of the migrants may have drowned, though this has not been confirmed.
It is not the first time that Italian rescue teams find dead migrants in overcrowded boats, but there have never been so many bodies. Last week, Italian authorities saved more than 1,600 immigrants, while the total number of migrant arrivals in Italy this year reaches about 60,000. Italians expect this year's migrant arrivals to exceed the 2011 record, when, due to the "Arab spring" uprisings, 63,000 people came to Italy by sea.
Since last October, after the two disasters in Italy's territorial waters, the Italian navy launched the Mare Nostrum operation to intercept migrant boats. Countless lives have already been saved, but, lacking the necessary infrastructure, local authorities in coastal Sicily are overwhelmed by the large number of immigrants constantly arriving, for whom they need to ensure basic living conditions. In this situation, Italy alone lacks the resources to cope with this influx and needs EU and UN support.
Sources: http://www.thelocal.it
http://www.theguardian.com
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