Paris and Berlin call on Rome to respect EU migration norms

'Migrants must be processed in first port of entry'

(ANSA) - Berlin, September 1 - The interior ministers of Germany and France on Monday called on Italy to respect EU regulations on asylum seekers. "Many of the refugees disembarking in Italy are headed to north European countries," the interior ministers said in a joint note after a bilateral meeting on Sunday. EU regulations say "migrants must be processed in the first European port of entry," the ministers pointed out.

The EU last week agreed to replace Italy's Mare Nostrum (Our Sea) migrant search-and-rescue operation in the Mediterranean with an expanded version of European border agency Frontex. While applauding Italy's efforts to save the lives of people fleeing wars in Africa and the Middle East, it has criticized the fact that Italian authorities do not process the newcomers, leaving them to languish in migrant reception centers for months on end, officials said.