Italy Working to Bring Libyan Issue to Forefront of Int'l Agenda

Italy tries to focus the attention of the international community on the Libyan issue due to high influx of migrants, Italian Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano said on Thursday.

MADRID (Sputnik) — Italy is trying to focus the attention of the international community on the Libyan issue, as it is crucial for solving the problem of a migrant inflow to Europe, Italian Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano said on Thursday.

"We are working to bring the Libyan issue to the forefront of international relations. About 90 percent of migrants arriving to Italy are from Libya," Alfano said at a press conference during his visit to Madrid.

It is essential to "find balance" between "observing human rights and observing the law," Alfano said, adding that Europe is not to blame for the migration crisis but carries responsibility for its settlement.

"What shall we do? We need to find solidarity in solving the problem. We need to fulfill our commitments. We decided to introduce redistribution quotas, and we must follow our decision," Alfano explained.

He underlined that he did not support the idea of providing EU member states with the possibility to allocate financial help instead of accepting migrants.

"If there is no redistribution, all the migrants will stay in Italy. Other countries must show solidarity with us. The decisions were taken at the EU level," Alfano stressed.

The European Union is facing the worst migration crisis since World War II. It escalated in 2015 with hundreds of thousands of people form the Middle East and North Africa seeking asylum in the EU member states. The EU border agency Frontex detected over 1.83 million illegal border crossings in 2015.