The Italian government is mulling
whether to deny docking privileges in Italian ports to ships
rescuing migrants off Libya that are flying non-Italian flags,
government sources said Wednesday. They said it was now
"unsustainable" that all the vessels operating in the
Mediterranean should bring rescued asylum seekers to Italy.
Italy, the sources said, will continue to save human lives at
sea as it has always done over recent years, but it is no longer
sustainable that the whole burden of migrant reception should
weigh on Italy. Rescues and reception cannot be separated and
therefore the contribution of the EU must not be limited to sea
rescues, the sources said. A possible block on Italian ports
would concern not only ships operated by non-governmental
organisations operating in the central Mediterranean but also
naval units inserted in the mission of Frontex, the EU border
control agency, and in EUNAVFOR MED, the operation that is
tasked with combatting human traffickers in the Sicilian Channel
and in which 25 European nations are taking part.
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