President of European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen visits Italian island of Lampedusa

The President of European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, visited Italian island of Lampedusa after Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni asked for EU help on migrants crisis. Ms. Ursula visited migrant reception centre on the island and acknowledged that the issue was a European challenge and needs a European answer. More than 8,000 migrants have arrived on the island over the past three days. Prime Minister Meloni said, Italy is being placed under unsustainable pressure.

At a news conference with Ms. Meloni, the European Commission President



pledged to increase support to transfer migrants out of Lampedusa. She also assured to step up efforts against people smugglers who enabled dangerous and illegal journeys. The Italian Prime Minister said, the problem could not be solved by Italy alone. 

She added, it was currently affecting the borders, the frontier countries but would soon involve all of the EU states. Ms Meloni is asking for European Union naval support to block boats from crossing the Mediterranean to reach Italian shores.