EU chief to visit Italy's Lampedusa amid protests over migrant numbers
By Yara Nardi
LAMPEDUSA, Italy (Reuters) -European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will travel to Lampedusa on Sunday, an official said, as dozens of the Italian island's citizens protested over a recent surge in migrant arrivals.
Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called on Friday for the European Union (EU) to act jointly «with a naval mission if necessary» to prevent migrants from North Africa crossing the Mediterranean.
Nearly 126,000 migrants have arrived in Italy so far this year, almost double the figure by the same date in 2022. Lampedusa has recently borne the brunt, with thousands of landings this week, more than the island's permanent population.
«President Von der Leyen will be travelling to Lampedusa tomorrow on the invitation of Italian PM Meloni,» EU Commission spokesman Eric Mamer said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The interior ministers of France, Germany and Italy and some EU representatives discussed migrant issues during a phone meeting on Saturday, French minister Gerald Darmanin said in a post on X.
Germany has decided to keep taking in migrants and refugees arriving in Italy, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said on Friday, two days after it announced the suspension of an agreement with Rome to receive new arrivals.
«Today is a time first of all for solidarity with Italy and also for mobilisation by the European Union to come in support,» French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne told BFM TV, adding President Emmanuel Macron would speak to Meloni.
ISLANDERS' PROTEST
Dozens of Lampedusa residents held protests on Saturday against a plan to build new tent camps to host migrants.
«I have two children at home. In the past years, I did not care about this issue. But now I have
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