DrThe Italian government decided a nationwide state of emergency due to the large number of migrations through the Mediterranean route. The ANSA news agency reported on Tuesday that this is valid for six months and is supposed to initially provide five million euros for particularly affected areas in the south. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s office confirmed the reports upon request. With the state of emergency, it should be easier to set up new reception centers for refugees.
The arrival of thousands of immigrants in Italy has been discussed for some time. Rome’s interior ministry counted more than 31,000 people arriving in Italy by boat this year – in the same period last year there were about 7,900.
A number of people repeatedly attempt to reach the Italian islands of Lampedusa and Sicily as well as the Italian mainland or Malta by often unseaworthy boats from Tunisia and Libya across the Mediterranean. Highly dangerous crossings sometimes lead to devastating boat accidents, as in the case of the end of February off the coast of Calabria with at least 90 deaths.
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