Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez accused Italy of being “anti-European” due to their migration policies during a European Union summit meeting in Brussels Sunday.
Sanchez, 46, a member of the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party, spoke out against Italy’s crackdown on migration during the EU’s small summit meeting focused on migration and asylum, The Washington Post reported. The Spanish politician claimed that Italy puts their self-interests above the EU in regards to migration. (RELATED: Spanish Deputy Minister Praises France’s ‘Cooperation’ For Helping With Aquarius Migrants)
“Our position is that Spain … is fulfilling our commitments,” Sanchez said during the beginning of the meeting, Reuters reported. “Of course we are committed with the European Union, we are willing to reach this common response to a global challenge which is the migration flows that are coming especially now from western Mediterranean and we would ask for the support from our comrades, other member states, in order to control better the flow that we are suffering now from the western Mediterranean.” (RELATED: Salvini: Italy Doesn’t Want To Be A Part Of The ‘Illegal Immigrant Business’)
Barcelona Mayor Ada Colao also attacked Italy over their tough stance on migration.
“Italy wants to leave the migrants in the hands of Libya, where they torture, rape and enslave” migrants,” Colao said. The mayor’s remarks follow the Italian government’s refusal to allow the Aquarius ship, which was carrying 630 migrants from Libya, to dock in Italy June 9. The ship ended up docking in Valencia, Spain. (RELATED: Salvini: Italy Doesn’t Want To Be A Part Of The ‘Illegal Immigrant Business’)
Spain received 12,305 migrants in 2018, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency.
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