Italy is taking a formal step with
the European Commission in relation to the large numbers of
asylum seekers landing on its shores, ANSA sources said
Wednesday. Over 10,000 asylum seekers have arrived in Italy
since Saturday. The government has given its ambassador to the
EU, Maurizio Massari, a mandate to formally raise the issue with
European Migration and Home Affairs Commissioner Dimitris
Avramopoulos, the sources said. Rome's message to the Commission
is that Italy is facing a serious situation and Europe cannot
look the other way. It is unsustainable, Italian diplomatic
sources said, that all rescue ships should land in Italy. If the
situation does not change, they said, Italy may be forced to
deny permission to dock to non-Italian-flagged ships or ones
that are not part of European missions.
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