A wise investment?
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has urged the European Union to pay Libya “at least €5bn (£4.1bn) a year” for Tripoli to stop the waves of clandestine African migrants who sail from the country’s Mediterranean shores in smugglers’ boats toward Western Europe.
Otherwise, Colonel Gaddafi warned during a speech in Italy, Europe “could turn into Africa” with millions of immigrants.
The Italian government’s practice of returning those found at sea to Libya without screening them first for asylum has been criticised by human rights groups and Catholic Church officials. As part of a treaty with Italy, Libya agreed to crack down on the thousands of African migrants who set off from Libyan shores for its former colonial master. Premier Silvio Berlusconi’s key partner in his conservative coalition is the anti-immigrant Northern League party.