It is in Italy's national interest to continue the European Union's Sofia search and rescue mission in the Mediterranean, European Union parliament president Antonio Tajani said on Wednesday after anti-migrant interior minister Matteo Salvini threatened to end it.
"In my view, the mission should be retained. We can change and strengthen it but we must compel all countries to play a part," Tajani told reporters in Brussels on Wednesday.
The European Parliament has asked for changes to the Dublin Regulation requiring migrants to claim asylum in the first EU country they reach, Tajani noted.
"But we have encountered opposition to this request especially from Eastern European states," said Tajani.
"We need more solidarity on the part of Europe. However, illegal immigration needs to be stemmed in Africa: we need to allocate almost 50 billion euros to this in the EU's next long-term budget," he said.
"This is why we have put forward an alternative proposal inviting member states to invest more in Africa: we're interested in solidarity."
Salvini on Wednesday threatened to end the Sofia mission unless its current operation rules are changed - these require all rescued migrants to be landed at Italian ports.
Germany said it was suspending its participation in Sofia due to the populist Italian government's ongoing closure of its ports to rescued migrants and its unwillingness to take in any more, several German media outlets reported on Tuesday.
