Giorgia Meloni toured the tiny Sicilian island, which for years has been the first port of call for people making the treacherous journey by sea from north Africa, alongside Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president.
The three-hour visit, which included a stop at an overcrowded reception centre and a site near the port that contains the remains of flimsy boats used by migrants, came after almost 8,500 people landed within three days last week - more than the island's population of 6,000.
In recent days, there have been chaotic scenes at the reception centre, which only has the capacity to host 400 people, with some people sleeping on the rubbish-strewn street outside and others trying to escape over a fence.
But by the time Meloni and Von der Leyen arrived, the majority had been transferred off the island to centres in Sicily or mainland Italy and the area around the centre made to look almost pristine.
Meloni, whose far-right coalition government took power last October, said the influx threatened "the future of Europe" and that "serious solutions" were needed, such as cracking down on people smugglers, swiftly deporting illegal immigrants and moving quickly to implement a deal signed this year with Tunisia.
This story is from the September 18, 2023 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the September 18, 2023 edition of The Guardian.
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