Brussels, 20/12/2013 (Agence Europe) - Leaving the European summit in Brussels on Friday 19 December, Italy's Prime Minister Enrico Letta said that those in charge of the migrant reception centre on Lampedusa could be dismissed and the management of the centre would be reviewed. The practices of the centre were revealed on Italian television on Wednesday 18 December and have created a scandal. “It is evident that I fully support the hard line defined by the minister of the interior - with the removal of those in charge and a complete change of the centre's management” if the facts of the “intolerable” treatment inflicted on the migrants are verified.
For the rest, Letta - whose country is one of the first ports of call for migratory flows - said he agrees with “the lines of action defined by the Commission (cooperation with third countries, regional cooperation and re-installation, the fight against human trafficking, strengthening border surveillance, solidarity with the countries under migratory pressure)”, presented on 4 December and included in the Council conclusions. However, “it's now that the legislative work begins ahead of the summit in June”, added Letta. He stated that Italy's resolve to develop an initiative to the full will be strengthened by the Mare Nostrum operation currently under way, which is patrolling off the coast of Libya and which has been “recognised by other members of the European Council”. Nevertheless, Letta said that “it is evident that deeds like those of Lampedusa do not help with this”.
Reacting to the conclusions being quite modest and focusing on the fight against illegal immigration, the NGO Human Rights Watch deplored the EU's “security approach”. No new element has been brought to ensure that the migrants in distress will effectively be rescued and brought back to a safe place, said HRW in a press release. (SP/FG/transl.fl)