Italy Wants EU to Set Up Migrant Centres South of Libyan Border

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Italy will urge European Union leaders to push for setting up centres to process would-be migrants south of Libya’s border, Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said during a visit to the north African country.

“Italy and Libya cannot be the only countries bearing the costs of migration,” Salvini told reporters, adding that Italy would propose the creation of “identification centers” at the EU summit in Brussels due on Thursday and Friday.

Salvini, who is deputy premier and leads the anti-migrant League, said he will do all he can to ensure only Libyan authorities deal with migrants off the Libyan coast, denouncing “turf invasions by those organizations which seek to replace governments and de facto help illegal trafficking.”

Salvini has made migration the priority issue for the new populist coalition government, stopping migrant ships, run by humanitarian organizations, from reaching Italy and sparring with French President Emmanuel Macron. European leaders made little tangible progress on tackling migration flows at an informal gathering of leaders in Brussels Sunday.

Salvini’s League surged in a second round of municipal voting on Sunday, confirming a steady pickup in support for the party since March’s national elections. Candidates from the League and traditional allies Forza Italia and Brothers of Italy won in the second round of local votes in most Italian cities.

Source: Bloomberg Business News