Italy declares state of emergency as migrant numbers surge

By FRANCES D’EMILIO
Associated Press

ROME (AP) — Italy’s right-wing government has declared a state of emergency to help it cope with a surge in migrants arriving on the country’s southern shores. Premier Giorgia Meloni and her Cabinet on Tuesday decided to impose the emergency status for six months. Some 31,000 migrants, either rescued by Italian military boats, charity ships or reaching Italy without assistance, have disembarked since the start of this year. That compares with roughly 8,000 for the same period in each of the two previous years. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Italy’s governing coalitions similarly imposed a state of emergency, allowing it to pass many coping measures by decree, temporarily bypassing the long parliamentary process.