With the huge number of people crossing the Mediterranean from North Africa increasing, Italy complains that its European partners are not sharing the load.Asked whether migrants could be given the temporary permits, Deputy Foreign Minister Mario Giro told left-wing newspaper Il Manifesto on Tuesday (18 July) the government was looking at all possibilities.
“We are in a tug of war,” Giro said in the interview, which was posted on the Foreign Ministry’s website.
He said Italy wanted to avoid unilateral gestures but is against the strict application of EU law which keeps migrants in their first country of arrival.
“We don’t accept being turned into a European hotspot, or feeling guilty because we rescue people, so deciding what to do with the migrants who arrive is everyone’s responsibility,” Giro said.