No diplomatic crisis with Italy, says French foreign minister

By Nur Asena Erturk

ANKARA (AA) – France and Italy are not in a diplomatic crisis, the French foreign minister said on Tuesday, but she sought cooperation from Rome to tackle the issue of irregular migration, which has recently strained relations between the two nations.

"We are certainly not," Catherine Colonna told broadcaster France 2 when asked about a crisis.

"Italy is facing strong migratory pressure, particularly from the Mediterranean Sea. We long for better cooperation with Italy because we must fight those flows," Colonna said, adding that Europe is currently developing a migratory policy.

Earlier this month, French Interior Minister Gerard Darmanin branded the Italian government as "incapable" of solving the problem, prompting Italy’s foreign minister to cancel an upcoming visit to his French counterpart.

Darmanin said there was a flow of migrants towards southern France, particularly unaccompanied minors, accusing Italy of being unable to manage the migration pressures.

However, Colonna brushed aside such a tirade, saying "I will take up a visit to Rome on Thursday, on the invitation of my Italian counterpart (Antonio Tajani)," while Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is scheduled to visit France in June, but the date has yet to be determined.

Italy has seen an increase in seaborne arrivals of irregular migrants making their way across the Mediterranean Sea on boats from Tunisia and Libya.

The two sides have often complained in recent months about mismanagement of the issue or a lack of cooperation in reaching a solution for the irregular immigrant.

Many of those migrants, after being rescued and brought to Italian soil either by authorities or charity boats, then attempt to move towards northern Europe, including France.​​​​​​​