NAN-F-23
Migrants
Rome, July 6, 2017 (dpa/NAN) Italy on Thursday said it would continue to demand that migrants who were rescued in the central Mediterranean be taken to ports other than Italy’s, Interior Ministry said.
“There was a disagreement before and there continues to be a disagreement,” Interior Minister Marco Minniti said after informal talks with EU counterparts in Tallinn.
“We do not support that,” German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said as he explained that opening additional ports to rescue boats could encourage more migrants to attempt Mediterranean crossings.
Minniti said the issue was not formally on the agenda in Tallinn.
He said that it would be discussed next week in a meeting which will be hosted by EU border agency Frontex and called to review the mandate of its Mediterranean naval mission Triton.
Italy got EU backing, on the other hand, for its proposal to regulate migrant rescue activities by non-governmental organisations with a code of conduct.
“The idea is to move fast,” Minniti said, promising to consult NGOs.
Early reactions from charity groups were hostile.
“Instead of a ‘code of conduct for NGOs’ the EU and its member states should agree on their own policies and conduct, ensuring they are prioritising rescue at sea and assistance to those fleeing Libya rather than hiding their suffering offshore,” Doctors Without Borders said in a statement.
The code of conduct is being proposed after NGOs have been accused by Italian prosecutors of colluding with Libyan smugglers, crossing into Libyan waters to rescue migrants and obstructing investigations against traffickers.
The charities deny all those charges. (dpa/NAN)
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Edited by Celine-Damilola Oyewole/Sadiya Hamza