Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, visited Lampedusa after being invited by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to see for herself the conditions on the island known as the gateway to Europe.
Lampedusa has reached a critical point, the small Italian island, where about six thousand Italian citizens live, has become home to tens of thousands of illegal immigrants in recent years.
At the press conference on Sunday, Meloni thanked Von der Leyen for immediately accepting his invitation, which is not only an expression of solidarity, but also of responsibility, since the border of Italy is also the border of Europe.
"If Europe thinks that the current crisis can be solved by closing the borders of the member countries, then it is wrong. The problem must be solved jointly, because all member countries are involved in the issue. The current press conference is also an expression of shared responsibility. The future of Europe is at stake," pointed out the Italian prime minister.
The question is whether the continent can face the great historical challenge of stopping illegal migration.
"Serious, complex, long-term, decisive action is needed. Everyone must move in the same direction, it makes no sense for one part of Europe to work hard to stop the wave of migration, while the other half demolishes these results citing ideological reasons," Giorgia Meloni believed.
The prime minister continues to claim that the distribution of migrants is not the solution to the migration crisis suffered by Italy and Europe.
– We don't have to solve each other's problems, we have to strengthen the external borders and stop the departing ships. This is the only way to curb illegal migration, he warned.
The established Italian government continues to propose structured cooperation with African countries to stop departing ships, avoid tragedies at sea, and eradicate human trafficking networks. With the establishment of uniform legislation, Meloni also called for the establishment of a European ship mission and the acceleration of the deportation of persons not entitled to refugee status.
He then called the agreement with Tunisia encouraging, which is a sign that Europe provides support to Africa, but demands responsibility in return. The Italian Prime Minister also said that they intend to discuss the migration situation in October, at the meeting of the European Council, hoping that the point of view represented by the Italians will be supported by the members of the body.
He confirmed that at the meeting of the Council of Ministers on Monday, they will decide that, with the involvement of the Ministry of National Defense, facilities will be created in which persons awaiting deportation will be housed. Finally, the Italian Prime Minister thanked the people of Lampedusa for their patience, perseverance and responsibility. The government has set aside 45 million euros for the island to deal with emergency situations.
Von der Leyen stated: illegal immigration is a European challenge, so a joint solution must be sought. He said that he met fantastic citizens on the island, and the staff of the Red Cross perform an extraordinary service.
Europe should decide who can enter the continent and who can't, human traffickers should not decide this, he believed. Then, in a list of ten points, he listed how he envisions the handling of the historically important crisis situation.
Their goal is to relieve the burden on the island, so they are drawing the attention of the member countries to take over the immigrants who have arrived on Lampedusa - despite the fact that the Italian Prime Minister previously said that this is not a solution to the migration crisis.
He emphasized that it is necessary to combine resources between Frontex and the European Union, as this is the only way to eradicate human trafficking networks. The only way to do this is dialogue and cooperation with the countries of origin.
Von der Leyen also announced that the border section should be controlled by deploying the naval and air forces, and if necessary, setting up a naval blockade could also be considered.
The chairman of the commission also promised to "clean up" the boats that have accumulated on the shores of Lampedusa. He added that the process of assessing asylum applications must be accelerated in order to determine as soon as possible who can stay in Europe and who must leave the continent.
According to him, safe humanitarian corridors should be created for immigrants so that they do not have to rely on human traffickers for their lives.
The chairman of the commission believes that by improving legal immigration, illegal immigration can be reduced. Finally, Von der Leyen promised that in the framework of the cooperation with Tunisia, new types of projects will be put into perspective, which will be implemented with the involvement of the International Organization for Migration and will be covered by the financial support provided to Tunisia.
