Sea rescue off Italy: Another tug of war over migration policy

Several ships are waiting off Italy’s coasts to be allowed to enter a safe harbor with rescued people. But the authorities block it. The rescuers apparently received support from Berlin.

Since October 23, the crew on Humanity 1 has repeatedly made requests for a safe haven, in the evening it was 18. But so far no response from the Italian authorities. The conditions for the rescued people on board are becoming increasingly difficult. The more than 100 minors who are unaccompanied are particularly stressed, reports Till Rummenhohl, head of ship operations at SOS Humanity.

“These are people from the second rescue who we rescued from a rubber dinghy and they tell us that many people fell overboard the night before we found the boat,” says Rummenhohl. “At least six people drowned before their eyes, including family and friends of the people we now have on deck.”

Rescue ship flying the German flag

Humanity 1 is flying the German flag, the organization is based in Berlin. According to Italy’s new interior minister, Matteo Piantedosi, the civil sea rescue ship is not in line with the spirit of European and Italian regulations on border security and combating illegal immigration. He could be denied entry into an Italian port, he hinted.

The addressee was Germany as the flag state, Norway was also reprimanded, other ships are sailing under its flag. They are all now cruising off the coast with almost 1,000 people on board, waiting for a safe haven.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani defended the new Italian line: “We only asked that the ships of non-governmental organizations comply with European rules when they rescue someone at sea and then ask them to dock in the nearest ports.”

Berlin is apparently asking Italy to help

Germany has since responded, but the Foreign Office in Berlin declined to provide further details, saying the letters are not public. According to media reports, Berlin has asked the Italian government to help the migrants quickly. Many of the unaccompanied minors need medical help.

For civil sea rescuers, the legal situation is clear. Rummenhohl says: “Both international and national Italian laws make it very clear that minors, especially unaccompanied minors, must not be detained at borders. That these people are allowed to cross borders freely. And currently there will be a border pulled up and they just won’t be let in.”

Meloni wants to take a different course

Giorgia Meloni had already made it clear during the election campaign that she wanted to take tougher action on migration policy and that illegal immigration should no longer exist. After her inaugural visit to Brussels on Thursday, the Italian Prime Minister stressed that her government would take a different course.

“Of course we talked about the migratory flows, about the Italian request, about changing Italy’s perspective, so that for us the priority becomes one that is already foreseen in the European regulations,” explained Meloni. “It’s about defending the external borders and that’s of course a very sensitive, very important issue for which I’ve obviously found an open ear.”

In Münster, Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock met her Italian counterpart for the first time at a meeting of the G7 states. After the meeting, Tajani called on Twitter for better coordination of the issue of migration at European level. At the same time, he reaffirmed the Italian position towards the NGO ships. The tug-of-war over migration policy in Europe has begun again.