Have the article read by OpenAI (Beta). Please note that AI translations may take some time to process.Almost 4,000 migrants landed in Lampedusa
Lampedusa/Rome (ANSA) – The landings of migrants on Lampedusa continue unabated: on Friday alone, there were 63 boats, with a total of 1,826 people. A record in terms of the number of rescues and the total number of migrants. There are over 4,000 migrants at the reception centre on the Italian island of Lampedusa, among them including 243 unaccompanied minors.
While working on the transfer of refugees throughout Italy, the Prefect of Agrigento, Filippo Romano, intervened after the NGO ship Ocean Viking and 438 non-EU citizens on board were assigned Genoa as a port. “The message that is important for the NGOs to understand,” he said, “is that not letting them dock in Lampedusa does not mean harming them or creating further problems. It just means that Lampedusa, now as in the recent past, is absolutely unable to receive any more refugees. It means clearly stating that bringing in more people implies inadequate treatment.”
The government is working on a new Decreto Flussi (flows decree) for the arrival of 450,000 legal foreigners and a security decree law that will also contain a crackdown on deportations of irregular immigrants and age verification of migrants presumed to be minors. “I believe that a new security decree is necessary as early as September, because Italy cannot be the point of arrival for migrants from halfway around the world,” stressed Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Matteo Salvini, adding, “since Italy sends billions of euros to Brussels every year, the defence of Italy’s borders must be a European priority. Unfortunately, up to today, we have always been alone.” (26 August).
Five EU countries want to extend ban on imports of Ukrainian grain
Warsaw (TASR) – Five EU member states, including Slovakia, have agreed to jointly push for the extension of the ban on imports of Ukrainian grain until the end of this year. This was reported on Friday by Polish Agriculture Minister Robert Telus after a video interview with his departmental colleagues from Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria and Slovakia.
Together, “we support the extension of the ban on grain imports into our countries until the end of this year,” Telus confirmed.
Several Central and Eastern European member states – Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria – have closed their market for Ukrainian wheat, maize and sunflower until mid-September with the Union’s approval, in order to protect their own agricultural sector. With the exception of Bulgaria, all these states share a border with Ukraine.
Poland and Hungary have already announced in advance that they will continue to apply a ban, even if the EU does not extend the measure beyond 15 September.
In Poland, imports of cheap Ukrainian grain led to a drop in prices in spring and sparked protests by farmers. According to Polish media, this situation was caused by the fact that much of the Ukrainian grain, instead of transiting to other countries, remained in Poland. (25 August)
European Council President Charles Michel visits flooded areas in Slovenia
Kamnik/Bled (STA) – On Sunday, before attending the 18th Bled Strategic Forum (BSF), European Council President Charles Michel toured the areas affected by the recent floods in the vicinity of Kamnik, together with Prime Minister Robert Golob. He gave assurances that the EU will continue to stand by Slovenia in the future.
“Slovenia is in a difficult situation. I am impressed by the courage of the people and the leadership,” said Michel, adding that he had visited the country to reaffirm the importance of solidarity.
Golob also reminded of the EU’s promises not to forget Slovenia, adding that today’s visit by Michel confirmed this. “The EU stands with us and will help us not only to respond quickly after disasters, but also to rebuild,” he said. He announced that Slovenia would also apply for additional loans from the European Recovery Fund.
On Sunday evening, Golob and Michel also hosted an informal dinner with the prime ministers of the Western Balkan countries. “Dinner with friends. Unity and solidarity on the menu,” Michel wrote on the social network X. (27 August)
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