HELSINKI (Sputnik), Svetlana Alexandrova – Sergio Divina from Italy’s Eurosceptic Lega Nord Party said Italy did not have enough money to accommodate tens of thousands of asylum seekers who have made it across the Mediterranean since the start of the year.
"We need to block the immigrant flow right there in Africa and stop immigrants from arriving to Europe through the bilateral agreements," Sergio Divina said.
Africa’s total population has topped 1.1 billion, while its economy can provide for only half of them. "So we are short of development for half a billion people," the lawmaker said.
"It is much more costly to support immigrant in Europe rather than to send money to Africa as an immigrant cost Italy 50 euros [$55] per day," he said.
Many African refugees get into southern Europe from Libya. The Islamic State militant group controls over 180 miles of Libyan coast, Divina said, adding the migration problem now comes together with a threat of terrorism.
"We should act accordingly in Libya or may be even further south," he stressed.
Italian authorities have long warned that migrant boats could carry Islamist fighters to Europe.
According to UNHCR, in 2014 some 218,000 people crossed the Mediterranean and at least 3,500 died in the attempt.
