The number of autonomous or so-called "phantom" migrant landings has gone up this year, according to Italian Interior Minister Luciana Lamorgese. Meanwhile, the number of sea arrivals and new asylum applicants decreased.
Italian Interior Minister Luciana Lamorgese and representatives from NGOs working in migrant search and rescue in the Mediterranean met on Friday. The ministry called the gathering "a first step for the start of a direct dialogue between the parties."
More than two-thirds of the 182 migrants disembarked in Italy from the Ocean Viking rescue ship are to be relocated to other EU countries. The Italian Catholic Church has confirmed it will take responsibility for the largest number.