E.U. Vows to Combat 'Brutal' Migrant Smuggling on Italian Island

The European Union (EU) has pledged to crack down on migrant smuggling during a visit to the Italian island of Lampedusa. The plan includes providing funds to Tunisia to block departures, accelerating asylum requests in Italy, and establishing humanitarian corridors in countries of origin to discourage illegal routes. The EU also called on member nations to accept voluntary transfers and dispatched experts to help manage the high number of migrants arriving in Italy. The Italian government plans to activate a system for repatriating migrants who are not eligible to stay in Europe. The crisis is challenging unity within the EU and the far-right-led Italian government. French far-right leader Marine Le Pen is using the Lampedusa crisis to push her anti-immigration agenda ahead of EU elections next year.