Italian Premier Matteo
Renzi on Thursday urged Europe to come up with a united response
to the immigration crisis based on asylum rights, and warned
that the emergency situation was set to continue for a long
time.
Europe is facing unprecedented arrivals of migrants fleeing
conflict in countries such as Syria, with more than 350,000
people reaching the continent so far this year, according to
figures from the International Organization for Migration.
The route from Libya to Italy is one of the most commonly
taken by those trying to enter Europe.
"It is Europe's duty to give a united response," Renzi said
during a joint press conference with Maltese Premier Joseph
Muscat in Florence.
"One that starts with European asylum rights, with EU
initiatives on reception and management of the (migrant)
emergency, with EU repatriation, but also with a global strategy
that holds together fundamental intervention to be made in
countries of origin," he said.
He added that the migrant influx was not just a temporary
emergency but one that was set to continue for a long time.
"Weeks and months will be needed," he said.
He warned that Europe "could not lose face" when dealing
with the crisis, pointing to the photo of a 2-year-old Syrian
boy dead on a Turkish beach which he said "grips the heart and
assails the soul".
He said that he was in agreement with Malta's Muscat that
the focus should be squarely on saving human lives.
Muscat said Europe urgently needed a credible authority in
Libya that it could collaborate with to help manage the
situation.
"The only way I see we can have a solution in the
medium-term is to have a credible partner in Libya, otherwise it
will only get worse," Muscat said.
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