The island is Italy’s southern-most border and is often the first destination for migrants and refugees seeking a new life in Europe.
But the dangerous nature of the crossing from North Africa and the unscrupulousness of the human traffickers mean that countless migrants die at sea each year.
Furthermore, there has been a substantial increase in the already large number of migrant boats arriving on Lampedusa since the start of the year, frequently putting the island’s migrant hotspot under intense pressure.
“I want to thank Ylva Johansson,” Piantedosi said.
“It is the first time that a European commissioner has come to Lampedusa.
“We see it as a sign of Europe’s closeness to the problems of Italy, Lampeduca and the countries where the migrants arrive first.
“Ylva Johansson’s concrete presence was preceded by concrete acts and it will be followed by others that the European Commission is preparing to support Italy with this delicate task of being the country of first entry.”
Johansson said that her message to the people of Lampedusa is that they are not alone.
“It is necessary to say one thing,” Johansson told a press conference with Piantedosi and Lampedusa Mayor Filippo Manni.
“This is not just an Italian challenge, it is also a European one.
“You are not alone.”
The number of people on Lampedusa peaked at 3306 on Friday after a series of migrant-boat arrivals. It has a capacity to host around 400. (Photo: ANSA)
Piantedosi ruled out the creation of a migrant detention centre at the Lampedusa hotspot, saying the facility would continue to function as a transit centre for new arrivals on the island.
“The Lampedusa hotspot will continue to exist with the same vocation as at present, that of a transit base,” he told reporters during Johansson’s visit.
His comment came after the government’s special commissioner for the migrant emergency Valerio Valenti said that the facility could host the first detention centre for asylum-seekers from so-called safe countries of origin contemplated under new migration legislation to facilitate their deportation in the event of a negative outcome to their claim.
“The department (for civil liberties and immigration, of which Valenti is the head, ed.) will now also seek to achieve other objectives,” Valenti said at a press conference to present the new Italian Red Cross hotspot management on June 7.
“The first, shared at European level, is to achieve faster repatriation of those who do not have the right to remain in the territory, hence the creation of detention centres. And I do not exclude that one, the first, could also be established here, on the island,” he said.
ANSA
