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Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Friday that she invited EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to see firsthand the seriousness of the situation on Lampedusa, the small Italian Mediterranean island overrun with migrants.
Meloni said she hoped von der Leyen would join her and speed up the deployment of promised EU resources to Tunisia in exchange for a freeze on migrant departures from the country.
"President von der Leyen has always been very cooperative. I have no doubt that it will be like this this time as well", said Meloni in a video message distributed by her office.
An EU spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The arrival of boats full of migrants in Lampedusa has made the situation there almost unmanageable, with reception centers overcrowded and moments of tension between migrants and police, foreign media report.
The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said the situation in Lampedusa was critical and insisted that providing adequate aid to the most vulnerable must be a priority.
According to Italy's Interior Ministry, some 126,000 migrants arrived in Italy by sea in 2023 as of this week, nearly double the number from the same time last year.
The record influx of immigrants is adding to the pressure on Meloni's right-wing government, which made the fight against illegal immigration a key point of its campaign platform.
Against this backdrop, Meloni also said her government would adopt "extraordinary measures" on Monday to deal with illegal immigrants on Italian soil who do not qualify for refugee status.
Rome will hold those who enter the country illegally for up to 18 months in specific centers where illegal immigrants are held before being repatriated. Now, they can be kept for up to 12 months. For those who qualify for refugee status, the maximum duration will be 12 months.
Mleloni added that her government is building new reception centers for immigrants and refugees because the existing ones are insufficient.
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