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Italian navy and coast guard escorted Aquarius to Spain (Photo: Wikimedia)

Investigation

EU paid Italy at least €200,000 for migrant stunt

Italy spent at least €200,000 in EU funds to escort the Aquarius rescue boat to Valencia in Spain after refusing it permission to disembark more than 600 migrants at its own ports in June.

An analysis of data obtained through a Freedom of Information request revealed the size of the bill racked up by the Italian coastguard, which was called in to provide assistance in the politically-charged operation.

It also indicated that around 90 percent of the budget for the journey was pro...

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Author Bio

Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's Foreign Affairs Editor. He has been writing about foreign and security affairs for EUobserver since 2005. He is Polish but grew up in the UK. He has also written for The Guardian, The Telegraph, and The Times of London.

Italian navy and coast guard escorted Aquarius to Spain (Photo: Wikimedia)

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Author Bio

Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's Foreign Affairs Editor. He has been writing about foreign and security affairs for EUobserver since 2005. He is Polish but grew up in the UK. He has also written for The Guardian, The Telegraph, and The Times of London.

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