Migration in the Mediterranean became a focus as Germany took up the rotating presidency of the EU Council in July and the EU’s foreign minister, Josep Borrell, visited Malta this week.
A group of 50 people who were rescued at sea and stranded on a livestock transport ship has been allowed to disembark in Malta. The MV Talia picked up the migrants off Libya on Saturday but Malta and Italy refused them permission to land.
52 people rescued from the Mediterranean on Saturday remain stranded on a livestock transport ship, MV Talia. Both Italy and Malta have denied them permission to disembark.
A group of human rights activists and lawyers took their case to prosecutors to a court in Rome on Thursday, asking them to determine whether the Italian authorities were complicit in an incident involving a migrant boat at Easter, in which 12 people drowned and the 51 survivors were taken back to Libya.
Dozens of migrants continue to wait on board the Ocean Viking ship, after Italy and Malta both refused to grant safe harbor to the private rescue vessel. SOS Mediterranee , which runs the Ocean Viking, said it had sent five requests to both countries over the past week, asking for the boat to dock.
A year after she was arrested for bringing 53 rescued migrants ashore in Italy without permission, sea captain Carola Rackete says nothing has fundamentally changed for migrants crossing the Mediterranean. The German activist also endorsed a campaign against the EU border agency Frontex.
There are currently 118 rescued migrants on board the Ocean Viking ship in the Mediterranean, the majority of them hail from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Eritrea. Some of those on board spoke to AFP, telling them about their experiences of slavery in Libya.
The NGO ship Ocean Viking rescued 118 migrants in the Mediterranean in two separate operations on Thursday. Meanwhile, rescue ship Alan Kurdi has been released by Italian authorities but is not yet ready to set off on a new mission.
The German-run rescue organization Sea-Watch has picked up 165 migrants from rubber dinghies off the coast of Libya on Wednesday. Several migrants including women and children were in need of immediate medical attention, the NGO said.
Germany will begin taking in migrants rescued in the Mediterranean Sea from Malta and Italy after a pause during the coronavirus pandemic. It is not clear how many will be accepted.
Three EU member states will take in some of the 425 migrants disembarked in Malta this weekend after they were held offshore for more than a month. According to the European Commission, France, Portugal and Luxembourg have agreed to relocation.
Malta has bowed to pressure and allowed 425 migrants to disembark four boats kept at sea for a month. PM Robert Abela cited a gas cylinder threat, activists' suicide bids, hunger strikes and illness for the decision.