Germany urges Italy to open up ports to migrant rescue ships
July 6, 2019
German Interior Minister Seehofer has urged his Italian counterpart Salvini to open ports to boats carrying rescued migrants. A rescue boat docked without permission in Lampedusa and another is headed to Malta.
German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer implored his opposite number in Italy to reopen the country's ports to rescue vessels carrying migrants.
In a letter to Italy's far-right interior minister, Matteo Salvini, Seehofer said the situation as it stood — with boats often at sea for weeks before they are allowed to dock — was untenable.
Since Italy elected a populist coalition in 2018, Salvini has effectively closed the country's ports to rescue ships, meaning boats have had to stay at sea for extended periods.
"We cannot be responsible for ships with rescued people aboard being adrift for weeks on the Mediterranean," Seehofer wrote, adding that European solutions based on joint responsibility were needed rapidly.
"I therefore strongly appeal to you to reconsider your position of not being prepared to open the Italian ports," Seehofer said.
Seehofer had earlier tweeted that Germany was ready to accept some of the rescued migrants arriving in Italy "as part of a European solidarity solution."
However, Salvini — who claims the rescue ships are assisting people trafficking — was quick to dismiss Seehofer's request and said Germany should take action against German-flagged rescue ships and their crews.
"The German government is asking me to open Italian ports to the ships. Absolutely not," he said in a series of tweets. "We demand that Merkel's government revoke the German flag from ships that help people traffickers and smugglers, and repatriate its citizens who disobey Italian law."
Germans march in solidarity with Sea-Watch
Thousands of people took to the streets in cities across Germany to support Carola Rackete and the Sea-Watch rescue group.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/D. Bockwoldt
'Sea-Watch 3 saves lives'
3,000 people joined the solidarity rally with Sea-Watch in Germany's port city of Hamburg. The German captain of the Sea-Watch 3 rescue vessel, Carola Rackete, has been charged in Italy for docking her vessel at the port of Lampedusa despite an order from the the government banning new refugees from being allowed on Italian soil.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/D. Bockwoldt
Local hero
Despite earning the ire of the Italian government, for many at home Rackete is a hero for saving the lives of asylum-seekers during the dangerous Mediterranean crossing. On top of criticizing Italy's anti-immigrant Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, Rackete has also criticized his German counterpart, Horst Seehofer.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/D. Bockwoldt
Nationwide rallies
Demonstrations were also held in Bonn, Münster, Frankfurt, Oldenburg, Bielefeld, Bremen, and here in Cologne. About 7,000 people attended the Cologne rally in opposition to attempts from nationalist governments to close their ports to rescued migrants.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Becker
'Sea-bridge'
Seebrücke, or 'Sea-bridge', is the name of the organization that called Saturday's protests. "Seebrücke makes harbors safe," this banner in Cologne declares.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Becker
Protest in Seehofer's backyard
In Munich in Bavaria, the state Interior Minister Horst Seehofer used to be premier of, thousands of citizens demanded Germany support the rescue and safety of refugees. Seehofer has been one of the few in Germany's federal government to take a hard-line immigration stance in recent years.
Image: Imago Images/M. Westermann
On Merkel's doorstep
In Berlin, the demonstrators brought their protest to the doors of the federal Chancellery building. Chancellor Angela Merkel has not weighed in on the plight of Sea-Watch captain Carola Rackete, who is preparing to sue Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini for slander.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/P. Zinken
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Sailboat lands without permission
Meanwhile, a rescue vessel brought 41 migrants into port at Lampedusa without the permission of Italian authorities.
The Italian-flagged Alex is operated by the migrant rescue charity Mediterranea, which said conditions aboard the sailboat had become intolerable.
"The Alex sailboat of Mediterranea Saving Humans has just docked at the port of Lampedusa," Mediterranea tweeted. There are no closed ports for humanity."
The German NGO Sea-Eye on Saturday said one of its vessels, the Alan Kurdi, had been refused the right to dock at Lampedusa and would sail on to Malta, adding that it would not wait for an emergency off the Italian island's coast and that "human lives are not a bargaining chip."
Last month, Salvini issued a decree introducing fines of up to 50,000 euros ($57,000) for the captain, owner and operator of vessels "entering Italian territorial waters without authorization."
From escalating violence in the Middle East and Africa to incoherent asylum policy at home - DW looks at how the EU has found itself in the midst of a refugee crisis.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Fleeing war and poverty
In late 2014, with the war in Syria approaching its fourth year and Islamic State making gains in the north of the country, the exodus of Syrians intensified. At the same time, others were fleeing violence and poverty in countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Eritrea, Somalia, Niger and Kosovo.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Seeking refuge over the border
Vast numbers of Syrian refugees had been gathering in border-town camps in neighboring Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan since 2011. By 2015, with the camps full to bursting and residents often unable to find work or educate their children, more and more people decided to seek asylum further afield.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
A long journey on foot
In 2015 an estimated 1.5 million people made their way on foot from Greece towards western Europe via the "Balkan route". The Schengen Agreement, which allows passport-free travel within much of the EU, was called into question as refugees headed towards the wealthier European nations.
Image: Getty Images/M. Cardy
Desperate sea crossings
Tens of thousands of refugees were also attempting the perilous journey across the Mediterranean on overcrowded boats. In April 2015, 800 people of various nationalities drowned when a boat traveling from Libya capsized off the Italian coast. This was to be just one of many similar tragedies - by the end of the year, nearly 4,000 refugees were reported to have died attempting the crossing.
Image: Reuters/D. Zammit Lupi
Pressure on the borders
Countries along the EU's external border struggled to cope with the sheer number of arrivals. Fences were erected in Hungary, Slovenia, Macedonia and Austria. Asylum laws were tightened and several Schengen area countries introduced temporary border controls.
Image: picture-alliance/epa/B. Mohai
Closing the open door
Critics of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's "open-door" refugee policy claimed it had made the situation worse by encouraging more people to embark on the dangerous journey to Europe. By September 2016, Germany had also introduced temporary checks on its border with Austria.
Image: Reuters/F. Bensch
Striking a deal with Turkey
In early 2016, the EU and Turkey signed an agreement under which refugees arriving in Greece could be sent back to Turkey. The deal has been criticized by human rights groups and came under new strain following a vote by the European Parliament in November to freeze talks on Turkey's potential accession to the EU.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/A. Altan
No end in sight
With anti-immigration sentiment in Europe growing, governments are still struggling to reach a consensus on how to handle the continuing refugee crisis. Attempts to introduce quotas for the distribution of refugees among EU member states have largely failed. Conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere show no signs coming to an end, and the death toll from refugee sea crossings is on the rise.
