City
Epaper

EU to forge new migration pact, says Italian Foreign Min

By IANS | Published: January 21, 2020 9:54 PM

The European Commission has reopened negotiations on migrants and asylum and soon there will be a new European pact on the issue of migration, Italy's Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio indicated on Tuesday.

Open in App

In a post on Facebook, Di Maio reiterated Italy's call for the burden of migration to Europe via the Mediterranean to be more fairly shared among EU states.

"Italy has paid for wrongs it did not commit and today we sent a clear message: the EU cannot manage without Italy and for this reason we expect our demands to be met," he wrote.

Di Maio held talks on EU migration policy earlier on Tuesday at the Foreign Ministry in Rome with European Commission Vice-President Margaritis Schinas and Employment and Integration Commissioner Ylva Johansson, the ministry tweeted.

"We need a new beginning for the EU. A common repatriation policy and the introduction of a mandatory redistribution system among member states for asylum-seekers," it said.

In September last year, the current left-leaning Italian coalition government signed an agreement with several EU partners including France and Germany, to automatically share the number of migrants who landed in Italy or Malta.

Boat migrant arrivals in Italy have plunged in recent years, due to the hardline policies of former Interior Ministers Marco Minniti and Matteo Salvini and Italy and the EU's strengthening of Libyan Coastguard patrols. After Greece and Spain, Italy remains one of the main landing points for migrants heading to Europe.

( With inputs from IANS )

Tags: ItalyeueuropeGreeceMalta
Open in App

Related Stories

EntertainmentIn Pics: Suhana Khan Soaks in the Colours of Milan As She Shares Enjoys Holiday Abroad

EntertainmentAnanya Panday’s Cousin Alana Panday Is Enjoying Her Babymoon in Milan With Her Husband Ivor McCray (See Pics)

InternationalEarthquake in Greece: Quake of Magnitude 5.8 Jolts Near Filiatra

NationalIndia Signs Free Trade Agreement With European Free Trade Association; PM Narendra Modi Says ‘Watershed Moment’

International49 Gold Sculptures Worth Over USD 1.3 Million Stolen From Exhibition in Italy

International Realted Stories

InternationalRussia announces tactical nuclear forces exercises

InternationalRafah border crossing remains open for aid, passengers: Egypt

InternationalIsraelis observe Holocaust Remembrance Day amid conflict with Hamas

InternationalIndian envoy Gopal Bagley calls on Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong

InternationalPakistan: 70-Year-Old Man Arrested for Marrying 13-Yr-Old Girl in Swat