Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called on the European Union to create a naval blockade in the Mediterranean Sea aimed at blocking the flow of migrants, arguing the “future of Europe” is at stake.
“What is at stake is the future of Europe because the future of Europe depends on its capacity to deal with the huge challenges of our time,” Meloni told reporters over the weekend, according to a report from The Telegraph.
The prime minister’s comments come after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s weekend visit to Lampedusa, a small Italian island that has become one of the hot spots of Europe’s migrant crisis. More than 10,000 migrants arrived at the island just north of Africa last week, according to the report, far surpassing the permanent population of 6,000.