Italy is once again turning into a hotbed of the European Union for the issue of illegal immigrants, after the election of the nationalist Xorxha Meloni as the head of the government.
Brussels is trying to mediate the latest row between Rome and Paris after French authorities suspended a deal several years ago that committed them to accept 3,500 illegal immigrants from Asia and Africa who cross Mediterranean waters to Italy each year.
The reason was the decision of Minister Mateo Piantedosi, from the ranks of the "Brothers of Italy" party of Prime Minister Giorxhia Meloni, to refuse the anchoring of the rescue ship Ocean Viking with 230 rescued migrants. The ship was sent to anchor in France, but the interior minister of this country, Zheral Darmane, said that these immigrants go beyond the agreement.
For the Italian Prime Minister, Italy cannot be the only country that welcomes immigrants in Europe. According to Meloni, the burden should be shared equally and not with quotas. In just one year, Italy has accepted 90 thousand immigrants.