Tuesday

19th Mar 2024

Italy grants citizenship to Lampedusa dead

  • Letta meeting with Pope Francis on Friday (Photo: Palazzochigi)

The death toll of the shipwreck near the Italian island of Lampedusa reached 194 over the weekend, as divers recovered more bodies from the sea.

The search continues, with about 200 migrants still missing, while 155 were rescued after their boat, which was carrying people mostly from Somalia and Eritrea, caught fire and capsized on Thursday (3 October).

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

"The hundreds who lost their lives off Lampedusa yesterday are Italian citizens as of today," Prime Minister Enrico Letta said on Friday - an official day of mourning for the victims.

But for the survivors, crammed in a refugee centre hosting four times more people than its normal capacity, the situation remains dire. Under a law passed by the previous centre-right government, "clandestine immigrants" are considered illegal and have to pay fines of up to €5,000.

Italian integration minister Cecile Kyenge visited the island on Sunday and promised to change the law.

"The rules must be changed, we can't just have to approach immigration with repression, but we need also one of acceptance," Kyenge told Italian television.

She also promised to triple the capacity of Italian immigration centres to 24,000 people.

Meanwhile, European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso has announced he will visit Lampedusa on Wednesday.

"The visit will take place in the spirit of European support and solidarity expressed by the commission following last week's tragic events," his office said.

It added that the commission is "fully committed" to help member states in coping with refugees.

Interior ministers meeting in Luxembourg on Tuesday are set to discuss the issue, with EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton also present at the debate to highlight the need for EU countries to take more refugees from places like Syria.

Belgian foreign minister Didier Reynders has also called for a "joined-up European policy of global immigration," in which border controls are "just one element."

But any changes to the current regime - a patchwork of national rules - are unlikely to happen overnight.

For the migrants in Lampedusa, and the thousands of others waiting in Libya or Tunisia to attempt a similar crossing, the EU deliberations will make little difference for now.

EU Parliament set to sue EU Commission over Hungary funds

The European Parliament will likely take the European Commission to court for unblocking more than €10bn in funds for Hungary last December. A final nod of approval is still needed by European Parliament president, Roberta Metsola.

EU Commission clears Poland's access to up to €137bn EU funds

The European Commission has legally paved the way for Poland to access up to €137bn EU funds, following Donald Tusk's government's efforts to strengthen the independence of their judiciary and restore the rule of law in the country.

Opinion

Potential legal avenues to prosecute Navalny's killers

The UN could launch an independent international investigation into Navalny's killing, akin to investigation I conducted on Jamal Khashoggi's assassination, or on Navalny's Novichok poisoning, in my role as special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, writes the secretary-general of Amnesty International.

Opinion

I'll be honest — Moldova's judicial system isn't fit for EU

To state a plain truth: at present, Moldova does not have a justice system worthy of a EU member state; it is riven with corruption and lax and inconsistent standards, despite previous attempts at reform, writes Moldova's former justice minister.

Latest News

  1. Borrell: 'Israel provoking famine', urges more aid access
  2. Europol: Israel-Gaza galvanising Jihadist recruitment in Europe
  3. EU to agree Israeli-settler blacklist, Borrell says
  4. EU ministers keen to use Russian profits for Ukraine ammo
  5. Call to change EIB defence spending rules hits scepticism
  6. Potential legal avenues to prosecute Navalny's killers
  7. EU summit, Gaza, Ukraine, reforms in focus this WEEK
  8. The present and future dystopia of political micro-targeting ads

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us