Italy no longer wants to take in migrants rescued by foreign NGOs, says Meloni

Europe 1 with AFP // Photo credit: AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP 18:40 pm, September 29, 2023

NGOs rescuing migrants in the Mediterranean will have to disembark them in the countries whose boats fly the flag, especially German, if a better compromise on the status of these NGOs is not found under the Asylum and Immigration Pact, Giorgia Meloni said Friday in Malta.

The head of the Italian government rejects an amendment presented by Germany on the status and role of NGOs at the time of the vote Thursday in Brussels, the reform of the Asylum and Immigration Pact. The text was approved by the Twenty-Seven but Italy, which said it was surprised by the tabling in extremis of the German proposals, expressed reservations and asked for a period of reflection.

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"We cannot play solidarity with the borders of others"

This amendment is "a step backwards" and "we therefore propose another amendment under which the country responsible for receiving migrants transported on an NGO ship is that of the flag of this ship," Giorgia Meloni told reporters on the sidelines of a summit of Mediterranean countries of the European Union in Malta. "You can't play solidarity with other people's borders," she added. According to reports by Italian media, the Italian amendment was rejected by interior ministers meeting behind closed doors in Brussels on Thursday.

Rome accuses Berlin of funding several relief NGOs in the Mediterranean, some of which operate under the German flag. Giorgia Meloni wrote to Chancellor Olaf Scholz this week to express her "astonishment" at the subsidies.

According to a count made Friday by AFP on maritime traffic monitoring sites, a ship of the German NGO Sea-Watch is anchored at the port of the island of Lampedusa, and five others are carrying out rescue missions off the Libyan and Tunisian coasts. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Thursday defended the role of NGOs in rescuing migrants trying to enter Europe via Italy. "Saving people from drowning at sea is a legal and European obligation," she stressed.

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The executive of Giorgia Meloni, who came to power a year ago defending a resolutely anti-migrant program, believes that the presence of humanitarian ships at sea contributes to their influx. NGOs argue that they recover less than 10% of those making the dangerous crossing, with the vast majority arriving either on their own or by being picked up by the Italian Coast Guard or Navy.