| Author (Corporate) | European Commission: DG Communication |
|---|---|
| Series Title | Memo |
| Series Details | MEMO/13/849 (03.10.13) |
| Publication Date | 03/10/2013 |
| Content Type | News, Overview |
|
A further tragedy involving illegal immigrants from Africa took place off the Italian coast in October 2013. More than 300 people were feared dead after their overcrowded boat caught fire. Boats carrying migrants from Africa and the Middle East land on Italy's southern shores almost every day. European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Cecilia Malmström on 3 October 2013 expressed, on behalf of the European Commission, her condolences to the families of the many people who lost their lives in the tragedy. She also stressed the need to improve the situation of identifying and rescuing vessels at risk for which the European Commission has developed a new tool, EUROSUR, to better track, identify and rescue small vessels at sea. It will become operational as of December 2013. Italian interior minister Angelino Alfano said 'This is not an Italian tragedy, this is a European tragedy', calling for more help from fellow EU nations in coping with migrants who try to cross the Mediterranean into Europe. Voices from across the developing world have since then warned EU leaders that a failure to cut CO2 emissions and respect funding commitments for projects to mitigate and adapt to global warming would lead to more climate refugees, and more tragedies like the one in Lampedusa. Will the tragedy lead to a change in the EU’s migration and refugee policy? |
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| Source Link | http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-13-849_en.htm |
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| Subject Categories | Justice and Home Affairs |
| Countries / Regions | Europe, Italy |
