Migrant crisis: EU’s Ursula von der Leyen pledges to help Italy amid surge in arrivals

European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen visited Italy’s island of Lampedusa on Sunday after Giorgia Meloni’s called for extraordinary measures to curb a surge in migrants from northern Africa.

Ms von der Leyen acknowledged the influx is a Europe-wide problem, and pledged to address it in a 10-point action plan, including support for managing the inflow and transfer of migrants, as well as stopping smugglers by bolstering air and sea surveillance.

“I want to be very clear: we have an obligation as part of the international community,” Ms von der Leyen, president of the EU’s executive arm, said at a joint press conference. She and Ms Meloni were “here today to offer a co-ordinated response by the Italian and European authorities,” she added.

Television images showed Ms Meloni speaking to islanders expressing their frustrations; she told them the government is working on a robust response, including €50 million to help the island, but a heckler in the crowd said it is not just money they need.

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Ms von der Leyen and Ms Meloni toured a migrant centre on Lampedusa that was overwhelmed with nearly 7,000 arrivals in a 24-hour period this week.

New arrivals have also criticised the long wait to be transferred to the mainland; TV footage on Saturday showed hundreds surging towards the gate as police used shields to hold them back.

In other footage, single migrants climbed over the fence of the migrant centre. Some 2,000 remained there this weekend after another 500 arrived on Saturday.

European Council president Charles Michel said that the issue will be discussed at an informal summit in Granada next month, according to a posting on X, the company formerly known as Twitter.

Italy wants to stem the flow of migrants by enlisting the help of other EU nations as well as those in north Africa that serve as a departure point for people crossing the Mediterranean. Tunisia and the EU signed an agreement aimed at building co-operation on migration policy in July, which Ms Meloni followed with an international conference on development and migration in Rome.

The problem cannot be solved by Italy alone, Ms Meloni said at the press conference, and warned of wider repercussions that “would soon involve all of the European states” unless bolder measures are taken.

Since the beginning of the year more than 106,000 migrants have arrived in Italy by boat after crossing the Mediterranean, more than double the 53,000 arrivals recorded in the same period last year, government data shows.

While Ms Meloni welcomed Ms von der Leyen, her ally Matteo Salvini, leader of the League, plays host to French far-right Marine Le Pen at a League party event on Sunday in an effort to boost their alliance in advance of the EU vote next year. – Agencies