Austria, Italy propose holding migrants on ships for days

VIENNA (Reuters) - Austria and Italy’s far-right interior ministers suggested on Friday that the European Union hold migrants rescued at sea on ships for days while an initial screening of their chances of obtaining asylum is carried out.

Far-right parties like Italy’s League and Austria’s Freedom Party have long pushed for a system where migrants rescued while attempting the dangerous Mediterranean crossing be taken back to Africa rather than brought to Europe ...

“For those who manage to make it into a European state’s territorial waters and are then picked up by a ship, we should use the ships to carry out the appropriate checks on whether they deserve protection,” Austrian Interior Minister Herbert Kickl told a joint news conference in Vienna with his visiting Italian counterpart.

Deputy Prime Minister of Italy and Minister of the Interior Matteo Salvini said he backed the idea. Salvini likened African immigrants to slaves during a migration conference in Vienna.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-migrants-austria-italy/austria-italy-propose-holding-migrants-on-ships-for-days-idUSKCN1LU2C7