Italy declares state of emergency as migrant numbers surge
Italy’s right-wing government has declared a six-month national state of emergency to help it cope with a surge in migrants arriving on the country’s southern shores, RIA Novosti reports
Italian PM Giorgia Meloni and her Cabinet approved imposing the emergency status to deal with the migrant influx, state TV said. Initial funding of 5m Euros was also approved as part of the measure.
“Let’s be clear, this doesn’t resolve the problem, whose solution is tied to a mindful and responsible intervention of the EU,” Civil Protection and Sea Policies Minister Nello Musumeci was quoted as saying by the Italian news agency ANSA.
Since early 2023, some 31,000 migrants, either rescued by Italian military boats or charity ships or reaching Italy without assistance, have disembarked, according to Interior Ministry figures. That is nearly four times the roughly 8,000 for the same period in each of the two previous years.
The biggest number of migrants arriving so far this year are from Ivory Coast, followed by people from Guinea, Pakistan, Egypt, Tunisia and Bangladesh, according to the Interior Minister’s tally.
