Spain becomes top EU migrant destination; Italy blamed for deaths at sea

The fall in migrant numbers in Italy has given the League party a political boost at home, says analyst Luigi Scazzieri of the Centre for European Reform. "The figures had already dropped very much under the previous government, due to a set of deals Italy had struck with Libya. Indeed, the arrivals had dropped very sharply. Now, of course, the policy of preventing NGO boats from docking has led to an even further decrease. But more than that, it's led to a very strong political win for the League, especially because other European countries have now been forced to take in some of the migrants arriving in Italy," Scazzieri told VOA....The United Nations says one in seven migrants making the crossing has drowned since Italy introduced the ban on NGO boats. Italy's hard line has reduced numbers, but at a tragic cost, and the European Union is struggling to formulate a response, Scazzieri says.

"The ideas that are currently on the table [are] those of external processing of [asylum] applications, of strengthening the role of Frontex, and even of more internal burden sharing," he said. "And these debates will go ahead and, at the same time, the ambiguity on what Italy does, I think, will remain."

Meanwhile, Spain is unlikely to see the huge numbers of migrants that made the crossing from Libya to Italy in recent years.

"Because the departure point on the African side would be Morocco, which is actually unlike Libya, not a near-failed state," according to Scazzieri.