France is ready to welcome some migrants aboard the Ocean Viking, the humanitarian ship of the NGO Sos Mediterranée blocked at sea with 234 migrants on board while the weather forecasts are scary with waves six meters high expected for tonight .
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin "has no doubt" that Italy "will respect international law" by welcoming the ship into one of its ports.
“International law - specified the minister - is very clear, when a boat asks to dock with castaways on board, it is the safest and closest port that must welcome it. Specifically, Italy " .
"We told Italy - added - Darmanin - and we say it together with Germany, that if that ship is accepted, we too will take care of part of the migrants , women and children".
With a directive, Minister Piantedosi ordered humanitarian ships to stay away from Italian ports, with the blessing of Giorgia Meloni who defines NGO boats as “pirate ships”.
“Where should a Norwegian ship go? Simple, in Norway ”, tweeted Matteo Salvini. But Berlin and the EU underline that " it is a moral and legal obligation for member states to save lives ". And Oslo for its part recalls that "the primary responsibility for coordinating the work to ensure a safe harbor for people in distress at sea lies with the state responsible for the search and rescue area where this assistance was provided".
Yesterday Giorgia Meloni in the meeting with the leaders of the EU institutions reiterated the need for the European Union to defend its external borders .
(Unioneonline / L)
