EU pledges crackdown on ‘brutal’ migrant smuggling during visit to overwhelmed Italian island

By COLLEEN BARRY
Associated Press

MILAN (AP) — EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pledged the swift return of “irregular” migrants and a crackdown on smugglers Sunday during a visit with Italy’s premier to a tiny fishing island overwhelmed with nearly 7,000 migrant arrivals in a single day this week. She told a news conference after touring the island’s hotspot, “we will decide who comes to the European Union,” and “not the smugglers.” Italy’s Giorgia Meloni framed von der Leyen’s visit as a “gesture of responsibility of Europe toward itself,” and not just a sign of solidarity with Italy. She said that the numbers will overwhelm not only “the border countries, but all of the others,” if they don’t work together.