ROME - Italian Interior Minister Luciana Lamorgese on Monday said Italy is waiting for "concrete signs of solidarity" on reallocations from EU member States. While waiting for the European pact on immigration and asylum to be approved, "Italy, faced with growing flows by sea connected to situations of grave political and economic crisis affecting countries like Tunisia and Libya, is waiting over the coming months from member States for a concrete sign of solidarity regarding the reallocation of migrants", Lamorgese told European Commission vice president, Margaritis Schinas, during a meeting today at the interior ministry in Rome.
Speaking about the Balkan route, "also in light of the management of refugees fleeing the dramatic situation in Afghanistan", Lamorgese told Schinas about the "urgency of a meeting between the member countries affected, coordinated by the European Commission, to share a common line of action on the management of migration flows by land and of asylum requests in countries of first entry in the EU".
"For years - Schinas told ANSA after the meeting - we had the same problem in Europe - everybody thought that immigration was someone else's problem. It is not like that. Lithuania's challenges at the border with Belarus are challenges for all of the European Union. Just like all arrivals in Italy are arrivals in Europe. We need a common European approach on immigration. An approach that takes into account Italy's specific situation".
"Minister Lamorgese launched a very strong message, that Italy needs and deserves European support on migration and she is right. The minister is doing an excellent job for her country", he added.
