Italy donates border patrol boats to Tunisia

(AFP) – 8 hours ago

CIVITAVECCHIA, Italy — Italian Interior Minister Roberto Maroni on Wednesday presented his Tunisian counterpart Habib Essid with four patrol boats to be used to stop migrants from leaving for Italy.

"Cooperation with the Tunisian government is essential to fight illegal immigration," Maroni said at the ceremony in Civitavecchia, a port near Rome.

The minister said he was "very satisfied" with an immigration deal struck with Tunisian authorities during a visit to Tunis on April 5.

Under that agreement Tunisia agreed to beef up its border controls with Italian help, while Italy said it would grant temporary residence permits to around 20,000 Tunisian migrants who arrived before the deal.

Migrants arriving since April 5 have been deported directly back to Tunisia.

Referring to the arrival of tens of thousands of migrants and refugees since the start of the year, which has sparked concern around Europe, Maroni complained: "We are working on our own on behalf of the European Union."

Italy has promised to give Tunisia patrol boats and jeeps to be able to patrol its coasts and says that the extra security has begun to have an effect, with Tunisian authorities blocking its first migrant boat earlier this month.

Once in Italy, many of the French-speaking migrants have headed for France.

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