Italy rescued about 1,600 migrants aboard 47 boats in the Mediterranean over two days and transported them to the island of Lampedusa. The Italian Coast Guard stated in a statement late Monday that they saved 1,200 migrants while at least 23 others remain missing, with one body recovered from the sea after three boats capsized. The Italian news agency ANSA reported that on Tuesday, 400 migrants were rescued from 12 boats.
In recent months, there has been a sharp increase in the number of migrant boats trying to reach the Italian coast from Tunisia, which has become a more accessible launch point after campaigns targeting human trafficking in Libya over the past few months. With the rising number of people crossing the Mediterranean on trafficking boats, the conservative government in Rome urged Brussels to make greater efforts to reduce the number of irregular arrivals.
Italy offered Tunisia financial support in exchange for economic and political reforms, while foreign ministers from EU countries discussed how to respond to the increasing instability in the country in Luxembourg. Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi is set to visit Tunisia later this week accompanied by the EU's Chief Migration Official and his French counterpart.
