Italy, France call for 'full cooperation' amid migrants row

ROME

The presidents of Italy and France on Monday tried to ease growing tensions between the two neighboring countries over migration flows, stressing the need for “full cooperation” in Europe on key issues and the importance of strong bilateral ties.

The offices of Italian President Sergio Mattarella and French President Emmanuel Macron issued a joint statement after a phone conversation between the two leaders on Monday morning.

In a sign of coordination, the heads of state “affirmed the great importance of relations between France and Italy and stressed the need to bring together the conditions for full cooperation in all areas, both bilaterally and within the European Union.”

The diplomatic row between Rome and Paris started last week after Italy pushed France to allow the arrival in a French port of a humanitarian ship, the Ocean Viking, with 230 rescued migrants aboard, after Rome had repeatedly ignored its requests for disembarking in an Italian port.

France fired back by suspending its participation in a European Union relocation plan to accept 3,000 migrants currently in Italy, while sending its officers to patrol its southern border to prevent migrants from entering.

Italy’s new far-right government led by outspoken Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has pledged to crack down on illegal immigration, saying that Rome has no longer to be the primary port of entry for migrants leaving North African coasts in the attempt to reach European shores.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani is expected to raise this crucial issue at a meeting of EU foreign ministers on Monday in Brussels.

Tajani on Sunday said France overreacted to a statement by Meloni last Tuesday, in which she thanked Paris for taking in the Ocean Viking, ahead of France's public announcement.

After a strong electoral victory in September, Meloni and her government have adopted a hardline approach towards NGO ships that request a place to disembark hundreds of migrants rescued while in distress in the Mediterranean.

Under a controversial decree pushed by Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi, Italy has tried to apply a “selective” approach in deciding who can disembark from the charity ships.

Those who did not qualify as “vulnerable” were asked to leave Italian waters to be taken care of by the "flag state."

The new "selective" approach on migrants' arrivals raised worries in Italy and abroad from humanitarian organizations and international observers, who accused Rome of violating maritime laws and refugees' rights to seek asylum after risking their lives at sea.