Italy: No tensions with France over the migration crisis.

(Baonghean.vn) - The Italian Prime Minister and the French President demonstrated solidarity on June 21, rejecting suggestions of tensions between the two countries stemming from the handling of migrant waves arriving on Southern European shores.

French President Francois Hollande (left) speaks alongside Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi at a press conference at the Expo 2014 international trade fair in Milan, northern Italy, on June 21. Photo: Reuters..

Ministers in Paris and Rome clashed after France began requiring migrants to turn back at the French-Italian border earlier this month, citing European Union (EU) rules that require asylum seekers to do so in the first European country they enter.

Italy has long argued that it and Greece cannot cope with the influx alone simply because they are the closest land destinations for refugees and economic migrants from Africa and the Middle East heading towards the EU on rickety boats.

Following a meeting with French President Francois Hollande at the Expo 2015 international trade fair in Milan, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said that the two had met and would push for an agreement with other EU member states at a summit planned for June 25-26.

Renzi said in a joint press conference: “Are there tensions that need to be eased? Not at all. The ministers have made statements…it’s like couples who have been together for a long time.”

Hollande said that Italy should not be left to shoulder the main burden of the migration crisis, but that rules must be followed. He rejected national quotas for resettling migrants, saying that voluntary commitments from individual countries would be more effective.

He asserted: “The quota system creates chaos… and makes no sense. Each country must state how much it can produce, taking into account its specific geographical, economic, and political circumstances. But it is clear that each country must make a commitment.”

Many EU countries have stressed that any refugee acceptance system should be based on a voluntary basis.

Last week, Italian police began forcing some 300 migrants, mostly of African origin, who had set up camp outdoors on rocky outcrops along the coast in the border town of Ventimiglia, to move. Many of them hoped to travel through France to Northern Europe, where they might have relatives and better job opportunities.

To date, more than 50,000 migrants have arrived in Italy. Reuters television captured footage of other migrants being rescued from a boat at the port of Crotone in the southern Calabria region on June 21.

Local media reported that there were more than 700 people on board the Luxembourg-flagged boat.

Renzi said there was no reason to become overly agitated, but also urged other countries in the region not to be selfish.

Thu Giang

(According to Reuters)