Operation Sophia

With regard to EU statements today on Operation Sophia, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Enzo Moavero Milanesi, said that “Italy never requested the closure of Sophia. It asked for the rules on the disembarkation of persons saved at sea to be changed, in strict accordance with the conclusions reached by the European Council in June 2018”. The April 2015 agreement provided that persons saved at sea should always disembark in Italy. However, last June, the European Council asked EU States to fully share all the duties relating to migrants.