French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin announced from Rome that France and Italy will form a joint task force to combat the channels of smugglers through which migrants are getting transported.
After talks with his Italian counterpart Luciana Lamorgese, he stressed that “this matter is a very important point in fighting the border crossing of illegal migrants from the Ventimiglia region on the Italian side to the Menton region on the French side”.
There are joint patrols between the border police in the two countries, but this integrated task force will gather, for the first time and within a specific structure, Italian and French forces under one command, as indicated by a source close to the French minister.
work and location of the task force that will begin work within two or three months are still being discussed.
Germany, France, Italy, and Malta agreed in September on a temporary mechanism based on voluntary service to distribute migrants rescued at sea, but only a few countries such as Portugal, Luxembourg and Ireland joined this initiative. The mechanism was suspended due to the emerging Coronavirus.
“The Malta agreement has been suspended, but there are many boats that have reached Italian territory and today all European countries must do what France and Germany have done”, said Darmanin and also adding that “at the same time, we should be able to distribute asylum-seekers upon their arrival in Italy”.
It is noteworthy that during the month of July, Italy witnessed an increase in the number of migrants arriving at its shores, especially from the Tunisian coast. As a result of that, right-wing discourse increased and demands for the adoption of restrictive security solutions rose.
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