The Romanian authorities have shown, in principle, the willingness to make an analysis with a view to taking in, alongside other EU member states, some of the migrants rescued by the ship Sea-Watch 3 from the Mediterranean on 19 January, the Domestic Affairs Ministry (MAI) said in a press release.

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte previously said that the 47 people aboard Sea-Watch 3, blocked off the coast of Sicily, would be allowed to disembark after France, Germany, Malta, Portugal, Romania and Luxembourg agreed to join Italy in accepting the migrants, BBC reported.

“Although it is not a firm decision, Romania’s expressing availability to take a number of migrants comes as a confirmation of the solidarity principle of the members of the European Union to manage the migration phenomenon, a principle that the Romanian EU Council presidency promotes. Following the agreement in principle of several member states, including Romania, the Italian officials accepted to allow the migrants blocked on the humanitarian ship to disembark and be taken into custody by the competent national authorities,” MAI said.

The analysis will be made in relation to the capacities of each member state that showed availability to take in migrants. The local officials are in permanent contact with their Italian counterparts and the European institutions to solve this humanitarian crisis quickly, the ministry said.

At the beginning of January, Romania said it was willing to take in five migrants from those who had reached the coast of Malta after being rescued in December.

Romania willing to take in migrants from those stranded off the coast of Malta

(Photo: Pixabay)

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