Italy hits back over migration security

Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni has warned Rome will not accept either "lessons" or "threats" from neighbours on border security amid tension over Europe's migrant crisis.

"We shall not accept lessons and still less threats such as those we have heard from our neighbours in recent days," said Gentiloni.

"We are doing our duty and expect the whole of Europe to do the same alongside Italy," Gentiloni said late Friday in a clear reference to demands by some neighbours that Italy close its borders.

Italy summoned Austria's ambassador on Tuesday after Vienna threatened to send troops to the border, open as part of Europe's Schengen passport-free zone, to stop migrants entering after the number crossing the Mediterranean topped 100,000 this year.

Some 2,360 drowned in the attempt, according to the UN's International Organization for Migration.

Other EU states, including Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland, have also expressed alarm at the continued arrivals.

Italy has taken in some 85 percent of this year's arrivals -- mostly sub-Saharan Africans crossing from conflict-ravaged Libya -- and has pleaded for help from other European Union nations.

But Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic have flatly refused to take part in a relocation scheme.

Austrian foreign minister Sebastian Kurz on Thursday urged Italy to stop migrants from reaching the mainland by halting ferry services from the islands where they first land, saying "rescue missions in the Mediterranean cannot be seen as a ticket to central Europe."


Share
2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AFP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world
Italy hits back over migration security | SBS News