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The Italian government is still unwilling to take rescued boat migrants from three civilian rescue ships.

“We cannot take care of the migrants picked up at sea by foreign ships that operate systematically without any planned coordination by the authorities,” Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said in an interview with Corriere della Sera newspaper (Wednesday). The independent expert in the cabinet of the right-wing government under Giorgia Meloni called for solidarity from Europe. The countries under whose flag the ships fly must take in the people.

Nearly 1,000 rescued boat migrants are currently waiting for the ships “Humanity 1”, “Geo Barents” and “Ocean Viking” off the coast of Italy at a safe harbor where they can land. The “Humanity 1” flies under the German flag, the other two ships under the Norwegian flag. Private aid organizations operating the ships reported that the situation on board had worsened over the past few days due to waiting times.

According to Piantedosi, migrants rescued by the organizations and brought to Italy account for 16 percent of the arrivals. Italy is already taking care of the remaining 84 percent, who will reach the coast with other boats or be rescued by authorities, he said.

According to figures from the Ministry of the Interior, about 85,000 migrants have arrived in the Mediterranean country in boats as of Monday this year. In the same period last year there were about 53 400. Italy will not deviate from its duty to rescue people at sea, but now European solidarity must finally become concrete, Piantedosi said. While not of any party, he is close to Matteo Salvini’s right-wing Lega. (aeg/sda/dpa)