Aid organizations are often the last resort for people who want to get to Europe via the Mediterranean. A new decree in Italy forces them to limit their work.
The Italian Senate has passed an internationally controversial decree on how to deal with sea rescuers. According to the Senate, 84 senators voted in favor of the text, which critics believe makes the work of aid organizations more difficult, with 61 votes against. After the House of Representatives had already approved it last week, the decree of the Giorgia Melonis government has become law.
According to the decree, civil sea rescuers are obliged to head for an assigned port immediately after a rescue operation, without continuing their mission and bringing other migrants and refugees on board. By the time they reach the port, they are, so to speak, withdrawn from circulation for further rescues. In recent weeks, aid organizations have also criticized the fact that the Italian authorities have assigned them ports that are far from the operational area in the central Mediterranean, such as Ravenna on the northern Adriatic. The nearest ports are in Sicily.
High fines and possible confiscation
If the new regulations are violated, captains face fines of between 10,000 and 50,000 euros. If this happens again, the ships could be confiscated.
In mid-February, 65 members of the German Bundestag asked the Italian parliament not to make the decree unchanged into law. In an appeal initiated by Julian Pahlke (Greens) and Hakan Demir (SPD), it was said that this contradicts international maritime law, international human rights requirements and European secondary law. The rescue capacities in the Mediterranean would thus be significantly reduced.
Source: Stern
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