[arista]

[Lampedusa: Ursula von der Leyen
and Giorgia Meloni visit island after
migrant boat fears]

[The European Commission President,
Ursula von der Leyen, has visited a migrant reception
centre on the Italian island of Lampedusa,
after the country's prime minister called
for EU help with small boat arrivals.

More than 8,000 migrants have arrived on the island
over the past three days.
PM Giorgia Meloni says Italy is being placed
under "unsustainable pressure".

Ms von der Leyen acknowledged on Sunday
that the issue was "a European challenge
and needs a European answer".
At a news conference with Ms Meloni,
she praised the people of Lampedusa
for the support they had given to migrants,
who she said had arrived on the island
"simply because of its location".
She pledged to increase support to
transfer migrants out of Lampedusa as well
as stepping up efforts against people
smugglers who enabled dangerous
and illegal journeys.
The problem could not be solved by Italy
alone, Ms Meloni said. It was currently
affecting "the borders, the frontier countries"
but would soon involve
all of the EU states, she said.]


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66836614