The EU avoids a crisis like Open Arms by distributing immigrants from Ocean Viking

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Malta assumes the landing of the Ocean Viking ship, belonging to Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and the French NGO Sos Meediterranée, which had been with 156 immigrants on board for almost 15 days. It was Joseph Muscat himself, Prime Minister of Malta, who assured through his Twitter social network account that his Government "will transfer these people through ships of the Armed Forces" to land them in the small Mediterranean country . All immigrants will be distributed across six states of the European Union: Germany, France, Portugal, Luxembourg, Romania and Ireland. "We appreciate" that these countries "relocate the 356 people," they explain from MSF: "We are relieved that Malta organizes its landing in a safe place. It is positive to see some States taking a step forward ." None of the immigrants will stay in Malta.

This news comes at a time when international media outlets deployed in the Central Mediterranean had spent days observing the displacements of the Ocean Viking after the controversy unleashed by the Open Arms case, which has caused the Spanish humanitarian ship, punished by the minister Interior Matteo Salvini, was 19 days adrift and six specifically one kilometer from the coast of Lampedusa. This fact could evidence the good diplomatic skills of the historic international medical organization when negotiating with a national State for a distribution of immigrants between different European countries. The low-profile strategy of Ocean Viking has avoided communication as media as Open Arms . Which could be considered as an important precedent that sets the foundations, in the not too distant future, for a structured system for the distribution of immigrants and refugees among the countries of the European Union regardless of their landing country. Keep in mind that Malta, a few days ago, had denied a safe harbor to the Ocean Viking and yet in the next few hours it will land on its shores.

This Saturday will be the day on which the 15 Open Arms immigrants assigned to Spain will board the Audacious Navy ship , which right now off the coast of Lampedusa. According to government sources, the Spanish military vessel plans to enter "throughout the day at the port of Lampedusa" , but the exact time is not yet known. At this time, the Spanish military ship is located at 1300 meters from the south coast of Lampedusa. From the commercial port of the Sicilian island you can see the ship without the need for binoculars. Throughout yesterday there was great uncertainty regarding the ship's operations . In fact, until the time of the verification carried out by this newspaper, no Italian or Spanish authority had been able to offer any type of information in this regard.

Libya is an insecure country due to its political instability, as the United Nations also points out. In the North African country human rights are not guaranteed, for this reason immigrants and refugees, a priori, have no other possibility than to continue their trip to Italy, by sea. At least not to remain in the hands of human traffickers. Libya, being a failed state, apparently would not have adequate Armanian forces to guarantee the humanitarian protection of immigrants and refugees on its shores. Immigrants and refugees, for this reason, try to enter international waters as soon as possible - after 24 maritime miles - where Italy has indirect responsibility for the "search and rescue" activity.

If an immigrant ship is drifting 30 miles off the African coast, a priori is not officially an Italian SAR area. The key is that, if the authority that should act ex officio cannot do so in safe conditions, the country that receives the call , which is usually Italy, through the Italian Coast Guard Operational Center based in Rome. International standards, in any case, provide that whoever receives the call for help has to make sure that drifting people are finally rescued. Among other things, because these vessels the further away from the coast , the more their risk levels increase.

The main flows of maritime migration to Europe are three, in order of quantitative importance: the Eastern Mediterranean (Greece), the Western Mediterranean (Spain) and the Central Mediterranean (Italy). On the contrary with respect to a few years ago, Greece and Spain are the main recipients of irregular immigration by sea. The fact that the Libya-Italy route is the longest and most dangerous, also linked to Salvini's anti-migration policy; It has made Italy not the most saved, but it is most exposed to possible humanitarian tragedies due to the lack of rescue. More than half of the world's immigrants who lose their lives to save it do so at Mare Nostrum. Therefore, according to IOM (International Organization for Migration) statistics, it is the most dangerous route in the world.

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