The Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, has criticized in a letter sent to the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, the approval in the German Parliament of aid to NGOs that carry out migrant rescue work in the Mediterranean Sea.
“I have learned, with astonishment, that your Government, without coordination with the Italian Government, has decided to support with significant funds the non-governmental organizations that deal with the reception of irregular immigrants in Italian territory and in rescues in the Mediterranean Sea “, he indicated in the letter, dated Saturday.
Meloni has asserted that “the presence of ships” in Mediterranean waters “has the effect of multiplying the departures of precarious vessels”, which represents “an additional burden for Italy” and “increases the risk of new tragedies at sea”, as reported this Monday by the AdnKronos news agency.
In this sense, he has urged the German side to “focus on building structural solutions to the migration phenomenon.” “I hope that the exact contours of these initiatives of your Government can be better clarified,” he added.
For his part, the leader of the League, Matteo Salvini, deputy prime minister of Italy, has assured that this measure by Germany is “a hostile act.” “I hope that the German Government stops financing those who participate in an unacceptable flow of irregular immigrants to our country,” he said, according to the newspaper ‘La Repubblica’.
This comes after the German Foreign Ministry reported on Friday that it would accept the funds approved by the Bundestag for a maritime rescue project and a ground care project, each for an amount between 400,000 and 800,000 euros.
