Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has invited European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to Lampedusa, following the unprecedented increase in arrivals of migrants on the Mediterranean island in recent days.
Meloni implored the EU leader to visit the island "to personally realize the seriousness of the situation we are in," in a video message on the platform X, formerly known as Twitter, on Friday evening.
Since the beginning of the week, several thousand boat migrants have arrived on the small island between Sicily and North Africa.
On Tuesday alone, more than 5,000 people arrived on Lampedusa - more than ever before in a single day. At one point, the reception centre had around 6,800 people in it.
Because of its proximity to the Tunisian coastal city of Sfax, Lampedusa has long been a migration hotspot for people trying to reach Europe. The island's city council declared a state of emergency on Wednesday evening in response to the situation.
"The migratory pressure that Italy has been experiencing since the beginning of this year is unsustainable," Meloni said. However, she said it was clear that Italy and Europe could not deal with the number of migrants arriving at its shores.
Meloni said she would decide on "exceptional measures" next Monday, such as extending the length of time refugees were allowed to stay in asylum centres.
Italy has been ruled by a right-wing alliance led by far-right Meloni since October 2022. One of her promises was to crack down on migration.
So far, more migrants are arriving than before.
According to figures from the Interior Ministry in Rome, around 127,200 people have arrived in Italy by boat since the beginning of the year as of September 15. The figure was around 66,200 in the same period last year.
