Name: What Italy's rejection of migrant boats tells us about Europe | FT
Uploaded: 2020-03-27T17:32:16.000Z
Duration: 2 min 18 s
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Europe is once again in disarray over its handling of migrants

coming across the Mediterranean from the Libyan coast.

There are two rescue vessels in the Mediterranean at the moment

including scores of children, who have been seeking a safe

But they've been mostly denied by various EU countries.

after it was denied entry into Italian ports.

On Wednesday, an Italian court overturned a government ban.

And the Open Arms is now sailing towards Lampedusa,

where it hopes it will be able to enter into the harbour

and offload the people that it has on board.

However, Matteo Salvini, Italy's hardline interior minister,

Mr Salvini argues that this is no longer Italy's problem, even

and it has humanitarian obligations to help.

Open Arms, for example, is a Spanish boat.

And he thinks that Spain should take in the migrants.

20,000 migrants across the Mediterranean,

But it now seems ready to accept at least some

At the root of the issue here is the fact

that Europe's asylum system puts an unfair burden

The rules require asylum seekers to apply

for asylum in the first country in the EU where they step foot.

That puts an intolerable burden on countries like Greece

Previous EU attempts to ensure that there's

been scuppered by resistance, especially in eastern Europe.

President Emmanuel Macron, earlier this summer,

to try and come up with a system of co-operation and burden

But Italy, perhaps betraying Mr Salvini's political motives

The numbers coming across the central Mediterranean area are

just a fraction of what they were in the 2015 to 2016

migrant crisis when 1.4m made their way across the sea

But it is still a huge problem for the EU,

that allows the bloc to handle the arrival of migrants

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What Italy's rejection of migrant boats tells us about Europe | FT

reveal

crisis

determine

common