The opening of hotspots in
Italy will slow down unless the pace at which refugees are
relocated across Europe speeds up, Interior Minister Angelino
Alfano said Monday.
Italy and Greece have agreed with the EU to set up hotspots
to register asylum seekers and speed up the handling of claims,
after allegations from other States that these were not being
handled effectively and too many arrivals were being lost track
of.
The EU for its part agreed to redistribute some 160,000
asylum seekers, mostly from Italy and Greece, whose outlying
islands are the first landfall for the majority of migrants and
refugees crossing the Mediterranean in search of safety from war
and destitution.
The EU relocation system is "in the trial phase but we are
not going at the pace we would have wanted", Alfano told RAI
public broadcaster's Radio One.
"We decided to proceed with the opening of hotspots at the
same pace at which the relocations are happening," he said.
"We committed to opening six hotspots but we've only opened
one so far."
His remarks came as President Sergio Mattarella spoke of
the "huge effort in integration and dialogue" required to
"safeguard and value the many ethnicities and religions that
make up a country".
Speaking in Jakarta, Indonesia, Mattarella said EU member
states must "carefully consider" what is needed "both in the
process of welcoming migrants and when it comes to integrating
the many people arriving daily in Europe".
Meanwhile Finance Minister Pier Carlo Padoan told German
newspaper Die Welt that the advantages brought by migrants and
refugees "far outweigh" the disadvantages, and we will see this
"not today, not tomorrow, but in the long term".
"Europe is welcoming talented new people," he said. "This
is wonderful."
Friuli Venezia Giulia Governor Debora Serracchiani said
"whether or not the various ministries of the interior can work
together" will be one of the key elements in how Europe deals
with the incoming migrants.
"This is an extraordinary and very useful opportunity in
terms of Europe," she said, speaking at a meeting between
countries that make up the Central European Initiative.
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