EU chief Ursula von der Leyen and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni arrived on the island of Lampedusa on Sunday morning amid growing tensions related to a surge in migrant arrivals.
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni have arrived on the island of Lampedusa, which saw 8,500 undocumented migrants land on its shores this week.
ADVERTISEMENTThe EU chief will visit the port and the migrant hotspot in the Imbriacola district, according to Italian media sources.
Von der Leyen and Meloni are set to hold a joint press conference at 11:20 CET.
Von der Leyen’s spokesman, Eric Mamer, confirmed on Saturday that she would make the trip at the invitation of Meloni, who vowed “extraordinary measures” to deal with an influx of migrants, calling anew for a naval blockade of North Africa and saying that Europe needs a “paradigm” change to deal with issues pushing migration.
“Obviously, Italy and Europe can’t welcome this massive influx of people, especially when these migrant flows are being managed by unscrupulous traffickers,” she said.
Our journalists are currently working on this story and will provide updates as soon as more information becomes available.
