Six European countries accept refugees from a stranded rescue ship
The Open Arms ship, carrying around 150 refugees it has rescued, has not been allowed to dock in any European port for two weeks and has been forced to anchor in the waters near the port of Lampedusa.
Now, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, in an open letter to Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, the text of which was published on Facebook on Thursday, August 15, announced that Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, Luxembourg, and Romania have announced their readiness to accept rescued refugees.
A spokesman for the German Interior Ministry, AFP, reported that Berlin does not shy away from accepting responsibility for the situation of rescued refugees and is in consultation with the European Commission on the issue.
The Spanish government has also said it would be willing to take in a number of refugees, provided there is a “common European solution” among EU member states to divide up the 147 people on the rescue ship. Spain says the EU must act together to tackle the problem of illegal immigration.
The Open Arms rescue ship, owned by a Spanish company, has not yet been granted permission to dock in Lampedusa. Since the coalition of the right-wing Lega party led by Salvini and the Five Star Movement came to power in Italy, the country's policies against refugees have become stricter.
In a message posted on the rescue ship's Twitter page on Thursday, the passengers were described as "Libyan Hell," fugitives who have been on board the vessel for 14 days without a safe place to disembark.
In recent weeks, Italy has been refusing to allow ships carrying migrants rescued in the Mediterranean to dock. The refusal to allow the Open Arms and another ship carrying migrants to dock in Lampedusa came after Salvini issued a decree saying Italy was not a refugee camp for Europe.
Court ruling against Salvini decree
However, on Wednesday, an Italian court overturned Salvini's order, and he issued a new order to try to block the ship carrying migrants from docking in Lampedusa. The order requires the approval of the Italian defense minister, who is refusing to do so.
In his letter, the Italian Prime Minister accused Salvini of focusing too much on the refugee issue and reducing the problem to a "closed ports" solution in order to gain political points.
Giuseppe Conte wrote that if Italy's national interests are to be protected, it is impossible to limit itself to adopting a policy of "absolute inflexibility."
The frank statements of the Italian Prime Minister, who is not a member of either of the two coalition parties, are not unrelated to Salvini's efforts last week, which plunged the government into a deep crisis by proposing a vote of no confidence in the government and proposing early parliamentary elections.
The right-wingers hope to gain more seats in parliament through early elections, using the refugee crisis as a lever. Salvini's plan has so far failed due to opposition from the Five Star Movement.
Source: DW
