Migrants landing in Sicily
14.4.2020
Priority question for written answer P-002260/2020
to the Commission
Rule 138
Annalisa Tardino (ID), Marco Zanni (ID), Alessandro Panza (ID), Susanna Ceccardi (ID), Valentino Grant (ID), Luisa Regimenti (ID), Francesca Donato (ID), Matteo Adinolfi (ID)
Many boats carrying illegal migrants, one of whom has tested positive for COVID-19, have landed on the Sicilian coast. The migrants have been distributed among hotspots which are full to overflowing and private facilities which, against the backdrop of the current health emergency, cannot guarantee the safety of the public.
The arrival of hundreds of illegal migrants at a time when EU citizens are being required to observe strict social distancing rules is giving rise to concerns among and protests by mayors and local people.
In addition, and even though Italy is not a safe haven because of the emergency, the Alan Kurdi, a boat operated by the German NGO Sea-Eye, is to be allowed into port.
Given the favourable weather conditions, and now that the Director-General of the WHO has confirmed the alarming increase in the speed at which the epidemic is spreading in Africa, more and more boats will be coming.
Lastly, the Commission [1] has stated that it is legal to deny entry to third-country nationals who represent a danger to public safety.
In light of the above, can the Commission say:
whether it agrees, given that Italy is not a safe haven, that migrants rescued by foreign NGOs should be transferred to the Member States in which those NGOs are based or to other Member States, through special health corridors;
whether it agrees, in the light of the emergency, that ‘ghost landings’ of this kind should be halted and that the priorities of the IRINA mission should be changed, with the focus shifting to efforts to thwart people traffickers, if necessary by establishing a naval blockade off the coast of Libya?
Supporters[2]