The Prime Minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloni, has affirmed that she has «no problem» with France and that she exchanges messages with its President, Emmanuel Macron, despite the public pulse that both governments fought on account of the reception to the ship ‘Ocean Viking’, with more than 200 migrants on board.
«I have never had problems with France nor do I have them today,» Meloni, who is trying to turn the page on the crisis, has settled. In fact, he hopes that there may be meetings soon, although there is still no date set to symbolize this new stage.
Meloni, however, has insisted in declarations to ‘Il Corriere della Sera’ on his criticism of the NGOs, since he considers that they carry out «ideological» activities that end up converging with the interests of the networks that traffic people in the Mediterranean.
Senior officials of the French government this month expressed their displeasure with Rome after the closure of Italian ports to the ship ‘Ocean Viking’, which ended up docking in Toulon (France) three weeks after carrying out the rescues. France broke an agreement to receive migrants arriving in Italy in retaliation.
This year alone, at least 1,379 people have died in the central Mediterranean area trying to reach southern Europe, according to data from the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
