Dozens dead, missing after boat carrying migrants broke apart off Italian coast
PBS NewsHourAPR 2 2023
While the EU has a moral obligation to help refugees, the block is facing an unprecedented migration crisis as a result of current policies and abuses of an overwhelmed system, leading to tragedies such as these. The bloc must work together to strengthen controls at external borders, with a focus on return procedures, reducing incentives for secondary movement, and promoting effective solidarity.
The European Commission calls the loss of innocent migrant lives on the Mediterranean a tragedy. Yet, at the same time, EU member states have pledged substantial new funds for weapons, surveillance, and speeding up deportations, as well as calling for building walls and fences around the EU to keep refugees out. By closing land routes, the EU is forcing migrants to make extremely dangerous voyages across the Mediterranean.