Will Italy ease its migration policy after the departure of the intractable Minister of the Interior Matteo Salvini? The new government authorized Saturday, September 14, the humanitarian ship Ocean Viking, chartered by the French NGOs SOS Mediterranean and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), to land on the island of Lampedusa with 82 migrants rescued at sea, thus breaking with the uncompromising policy of the previous government.

The Ocean Viking said on Twitter that it received the green light from the Italian authorities only five days after the first rescue operation of its new campaign off Libya.

Council President Giuseppe Conte, whose new coalition government between the 5-star movement (M5S, populist) and the Democratic Party (PD, center left) took office on Tuesday, said on Thursday that several European countries were committed to welcoming migrants aboard the Ocean Viking, without immediately allowing it to enter Italian waters.

Migrants in five European countries

According to AFP details from the French Ministry of the Interior, the 82 migrants who will land at Lampedusa will then be divided into five European countries - Italy, France, Germany, Portugal and Luxembourg - under an ad hoc agreement.

"We now have to agree on a real European temporary mechanism," said Interior Minister Christophe Castaner on Twitter.

The positioning of the new Italian government on the migration issue is highly anticipated by the humanitarian organizations and European partners in Rome after the permanent arm wrestling maintained by the former Minister of the Interior and leader of the League (far right) , Matteo Salvini, who had closed the Italian ports to rescue boats by accusing them of encouraging illegal immigration.

The issue could provoke tensions within the new coalition, with the DP favoring a more generous policy in this area, while M5S leader and new Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio has called for the continuation of the previous government's policy.

With Reuters and AFP