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A8 WORLD NEWS
Tuesday 24 sepTember 2019
5 EU nations reach temporary deal on rescued migrants

By STEPHEN CALLEJA ropean Union interior min- tional hardship for migrants, Sometimes Malta’s or Ita- The 182 men, women and
FRANCES D’EMILIO isters, when participants and ensuring swift reloca- ly’s military vessels perform children, including a new-
Associated Press in Monday’s talks hope all tion of asylum-seekers on the rescues, and occasion- born, aboard the humani-
VALLETTA, Malta (AP) — or many more fellow EU a voluntary basis to other
Five European Union na- countries will join the ar- member states.”
tions agreed on Monday to rangement. For more than The Oct. 8 EU ministerial
a temporary arrangement a year, humanitarian ships meeting in Luxembourg will
for disembarkation and which rescued migrants at give Spain and Greece the
relocation of migrants res- sea were blocked by Italy opportunity to seek solidar-
cued in the central Medi- and Malta from docking ity over rescued migrants
terranean from human traf- or disembarking their pas- in the western and eastern
fickers’ unseaworthy boats, sengers to those countries. Mediterranean respective-
with officials pushing for a The anti-migrant policies ly.
wider deal involving more caused repeated forced Italian Interior Minister Lu-
EU countries. weeks-long standoffs until ciana Lamorgese said the
During talks in Malta, the other EU nations stepped exact percentages of res-
interior ministers of France, forward with pledges to cued migrants each coun-
Germany, Italy, Malta and take at least some of the try would agree to take will
Finland decided to share migrants. ultimately depend on how
among their five countries It is “crucial that we move many EU members eventu-
migrants trying to cross away from ship-by-ship ar- ally participate in the sys- French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner, Italian Interior
from Libya — the deadliest rangements,” said Finland’s tem. Minister Luciana Lamorgese, EU commissioner for migration
migration route to Europe minister, Maria Osihalo. But it appeared the five- Dimitris Avramopoulos, Maltese Interior Minister Michael
— who are pulled out of She added that the limited nation accord would cover Farrugia, Finnish Interior Minister Maria Ohisalo and German
the sea by rescuers. deal struck Monday aims to all boats rescuing migrants Interior Minister Horst Seehofer give a joint press conference at
Fort St. Angelo, in Birgu, Malta, Monday, Sept. 23, 2019.
The deal will apply for the ensure that the rescue ships in the central Mediterra- Associated Press
coming two weeks, until “find a safe harbor without nean, the route used by
an Oct. 8 meeting of Eu- delay, thus avoiding addi- Libyan-based traffickers. ally a fishing or cargo ship tarian ship run by SOS Medi-
plucks survivors from the terranee and Doctors With-
sea. out Borders were expected
Current EU rules say refu- to arrive by Tuesday.
gees and other asylum- “I’m so full of joy! I don’t
seekers must stay in the know what to say now.
country where they arrive I’m so happy! ... No more
while their cases are pro- back to Libya!” exclaimed
cessed, but most migrants Awudu Baluduzzi, 27, from
hope to reach northern Ghana.
Europe to find jobs or rejoin Many migrant traffickers
family members who have are based in largely law-
successfully emigrated less Libya. While awaiting a
there. chance to sail to European
In Italian Premier Giuseppe shores aboard smugglers’
Conte’s three-week old unseaworthy dinghies and
new coalition, Lamorgese fishing boats, migrants are
replaced Matteo Salvini kept for months or years in
,whose right-wing League detention centers where
party has gained popular- they risk being beaten,
ity at home with anti-mi- raped, mutilated or forced
grant positions. into practically slave labor,
Contending that such res- survivors and U.N. officials
cues essentially facilitate say.
traffickers, Salvini refused Spanish Interior Minister Fer-
to let charity boats dock in nando Grande-Marlaska
Italy to let off migrants. is lobbying for a broader
Many of the migrants are agreement for all the arriv-
fleeing poverty and not eli- als by sea.
gible for asylum. Spain and Greece took
Italy, which saw hundreds more migrants than any
of thousands of rescued other EU nation last year.
migrants land on its shores More than 16,500 arrivals
in recent years before the by sea have been record-
crackdowns on humani- ed by Spain so far in 2019,
tarian ships, has been sty- and 33,000 by Greece.
mied in repatriating most of In Greece, the refugee
those rejected for asylum. camp at Moria on the
Meanwhile, migrants Aegean Sea island of Les-
aboard the Ocean Viking bos began turning away
jumped in joy and relief af- new arrivals last week as
ter hearing that they will be the number of people at
allowed to disembark at the site exceeded 12,000,
the port of Messina, Sicily, a four times its intended
week after rescue. capacity.q