Brussels, 07/10/2013 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday European Commission President José Manuel Barroso will travel to Lampedusa, where, on 3 October, more than 110 migrants lost their lives and over 200 are still missing. The visit will “take place in the spirit of European support and solidarity expressed by the Commission”, said his spokesperson in a press release.
It will offer the opportunity for President Barroso to “pay tribute to the many victims who have tragically lost their lives trying to reach the European shores and to express solidarity and gratitude to the authorities and people on Lampedusa”, the Commission goes on to say. The visit will provide an opportunity to discuss definite measures that could be taken “to address the plight of the refugees” and the difficulties of the member states affected. In Luxembourg on Tuesday, EU home affairs ministers will discuss the situation and what can be done, and will address requests for assistance made by the Italian authorities. Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta last week called on the European Union to increase its level of intervention, Italy having had to deal with in influx of 30,000 migrants and refugees on its coasts since the start of the year. Italian Home Affairs Minister Angelino Alfano called for a change in European rules which see the burden of illegal immigration weigh too heavily on the countries of entry and for closer surveillance of the coasts of Tunisia and Libya. For the moment, there is no question of the member states re-opening the asylum package, it having taken several years to put the reforms in place. This weekend, France called for the matter to be placed on the agenda of the European Council at the end of October. EU countries must meet quickly in order to find the correct response after the tragic capsizing of the vessel carrying migrants to Europe, said French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault. (SP/transl.fl)