Migrants disembark in Malta

316

Forty-nine migrants disembarked in Malta after spending over two weeks on board rescue ships, ending a stand-off in which European Union countries had refused to offer safe haven.

The agreement ending the stalemate was brokered by the European Commission and it calls for some 300 migrants who reached Malta in recent weeks to be redistributed between eight EU countries, including Italy.

Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, on a visit to Poland, demanded “clarification” with government since the agreement was announced, a League source said and will meet Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and other ministers on his return.

“I am and remain absolutely against new arrivals in Italy,” Salvini said on Twitter. “Caving to the pressures and threats of Europe and non-governmental organisations is a sign of weakness Italians don’t deserve.”

Sea-Watch 3, a vessel run by a German humanitarian group, plucked 32 people from an unsafe boat off Libya on December 22. Another German charity, Sea-Eye, rescued 17 others on December 29.

They were both sailing back in forth in Maltese waters after Italy, Malta and other EU countries refused to offer a port of safety.

Italy allowed rescue ships to dock regularly until June last year when the new populist government took over and Salvini, leader of the anti-immigration League party, closed the country’s ports to humanitarian vessels.

Since then, the EU executive often has conducted lengthy negotiations with member states to share out new arrivals before rescue ships are allowed to dock.

On Wednesday Salvini said deals made in the past are not being respected. EU partners said they would welcome 270 migrants after Italy agreed to allow them to disembark in Sicily in July, but only 129 had actually been taken in, he said.

Malta, which agreed to take 50, has so far accepted none, Salvini said.

The majority of the nearly 300 migrants now in Malta will be shared between Germany, France, Portugal, Ireland, Romania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Italy and Malta, Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said. The remainder, including 44 Bangladeshis, will be sent home.

Over the last week, humanitarian groups warned of growing physical and psychological distress among migrants on the boats, many who also suffered seasickness due to rough seas.

Â