As the deadlock of the NGO vessel Sea Watch off the coast of Sicily in Italy continues, S&D Group leader Udo Bullmann will travel to the port of Syracuse on Wednesday and Thursday to assess the situation. 

 

 

“For more than ten days, 47 people have been held on board of the Sea Watch because the Italian minister of interior, Matteo Salvini, is refusing to let them disembark. We can only imagine how difficult this situation must be for the passengers as well as for the crew and all the helpers in the port. We go to Italy in order to express solidarity and get a clearer picture of the situation first-hand from the brave people of the Sea Watch and NGOs.

 

“We bring with us a very clear message for Salvini: It is shameful to play with people’s lives for short-term political gains. The passengers from the Sea Watch have to be allowed to disembark immediately. At the same time, we call on all European member states to agree to European solutions to the migration issue, which have been waiting on the table for too long. We have to put an end to this kind of drama. Europe has a responsibility to do better.”