Italy told France on Saturday that most of the 20,000 Tunisian migrants who have fled to Italy in recent weeks will eventually reach France, so it should agree to take them in now.
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi also told Germany and the rest of Europe to show solidarity with Italy in accepting migrants or risk calling into question the whole idea of the EU.
During a visit to the tiny island of Lampedusa, where the bulk of the Tunisians have arrived following a popular revolt in January, Berlusconi said he understood that it was politically difficult for European countries to take in migrants in a time of economic crises.
Photo: EPA
“But in the end, you have to come to terms with reality, and with the fact that either Europe is something true and concrete or it isn’t, in which case better we should return to being ourselves and following our own policies and egoisms,” Berlusconi said.
The interior ministers of Italy and France met last week and agreed to conduct joint air-and-sea patrols off the coast of Tunisia in a bid to stem further departures, but the question about what to do with the 20,000 migrants already in Italy remained essentially unresolved.
France promised to honor the temporary residency documents Rome plans to issue to Tunisians, but said they must prove they can financially support themselves — a condition that will likely prove insurmountable for the bulk of them.
Berlusconi’s tough words on Saturday indicated the issue was far from resolved.
“I think France has to realize that 80 percent of these migrants say they want to reach family, relatives or friends in France,” he said.
Italy can keep them in holding centers for six months, but after that “they’ll be free to go, and automatically they’ll reach France.”
“So I think good sense would indicate that we should reach an agreement,” Berlusconi said.
The prime minister also said the start of deportations of Tunisian migrants should send a psychological message to those thinking about setting sail for Italy that it’s not worth the risk or cost.
Italy sent an initial 30 Tunisians home on Friday, the first deportations since the migration wave began and the first since Italy struck an agreement with the Tunisian government last week. Starting today, Italy will begin sending them back on twice-daily flights, Berlusconi said.
Italy is also providing 150 all-terrain vehicles and four boats to help Tunisian law enforcement authorities better patrol their coasts, he said.
At a news conference after his tour of Lampedusa, Berlusconi announced a series of economic measures to compensate the island for the difficulties it has endured in being on the front line of the migrant wave. He said he plans to buy a house on Lampedusa to show his commitment to helping it recover and that the government will nominate Lampedusa for the Nobel Peace Prize.
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