"Migration pressure is unbearable", Meloni "teeth for teeth" with immigrants and urgently appeals to the EU

In a video message posted on social networks, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni referred to the arrivals of migrants and refugees registered in southern Italy, underlining that "the pressure of migration is unbearable".

"These are consequences of a very difficult international situation, in which we encounter pre-existing problems of African countries and a growing instability, especially in the Sahel region," added Meloni .

She also emphasized that phenomena such as jihadism, the war of wheat, coups d'état and natural disasters can push tens of millions of people to want to leave their homeland to seek a better future in Europe, but it is it is clear that Europe cannot accommodate this large number".

The head of the Italian government stated that "the arrivals of immigrants can be stopped by activating a European mission - naval if necessary - in agreement with the countries of North Africa, to stop the departures of sailors ". She expressed the opinion that "Europe should accept only those who really have the right to asylum, based on international conventions" and requested that "serious investments be made for development in Africa".

The Italian prime minister also announced that she invited the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, to visit Lampedusa with her  "to better understand the seriousness of the situation facing Italy and to speed up the implementation of the agreement with Tunisia, and regarding the support financial of the country ". At the same time, she underlined that she has asked the president of the European Council, Charles Michel, to include immigration in the agenda of the next European summit.

In her six-minute video message, Meloni also referred to the "emergency measures that the Italian government intends to take immediately, to reduce the number of arrivals recorded in recent days". In particular, he said that in next Monday's cabinet "it will be decided to increase the limit of temporary detention in repatriation centers" of those immigrants who enter Italy illegally. This term will reach eighteen months, while for asylum seekers it will be twelve months.

"I want to send a clear message to anyone who wants to enter Italy illegally: it is not good to trust human traffickers. Because they ask for a lot of money, to get on boats that are not equipped for these trips and anyway, if you enter Italy illegally, there will be a temporary detention and repatriation", concluded Giorgia Meloni .