Voter concerns over migration were reflected in the weekend visit of European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen to Lampedusa, where large numbers of migrants landed in recent days
Voter concerns over migration were reflected in the weekend visit of European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen to LampedusaMigrants on the island of Lampedusa last week, where a large influx - mainly arriving from Tunisia - has led to demands from the Italian government for EU help for this newspaper paint a grim picture of the plight of displaced people in a country which has become a major waystation on what the United Nations calls “the deadliest migration route in the world”.
In response, the EU is ramping up financial support for the country’s president, Kais Saied, in a bid to reduce the flow of people attempting the perilous passage across the sea. But this raises serious questions about whether the values which the EU claims to uphold are being ignored or betrayed in the process.
Saied’s regime has imprisoned members of the opposition and initiated a wave of repression and racist violence against black Africans, who are accused of being part of a “criminal plot” to change the country’s demographics. The allegation echoes the “great replacement theory” popular among the European far right.he weekend visit of European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen to Lampedusa
, the Italian island where large numbers of migrants landed in recent days, leading to calls by Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni for Europe to assist Italy. In July, von der Leyen, Meloni and Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte posed for photos alongside Saied when announcing €105 million in EU aid to stem migration by clamping down on people smuggling and strengthening border management, plus €600 million in support for the country’s crisis-ridden economy.
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