EU's von der Leyen to take up Meloni invite to Lampedusa

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen plans to go to Italy on Saturday, following the arrival of thousands of migrants on the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa this week.
She will first meet Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome, a spokesman for von der Leyen told dpa on the fringes of an event in Germany's Hanau.
Meloni and von der Leyen then planned to visit Lampedusa together, the spokesman said.
On Friday, Meloni invited von der Leyen to Lampedusa to get an idea of the "seriousness of the situation" facing Italy.
The right-wing Italian politician called for a European operation to stop the migrant boats, starting "immediately." If necessary, the navy should be deployed, she said in a video message on Friday evening.
The would-be migrants should not be allowed to disembark from North Africa in first place, she argued.
Since the beginning of the week, several thousand boat migrants have reached Lampedusa, a small island between Sicily and North Africa. On one day, more than 5,000 people arrived - a record for a single day. The reception camp has become overcrowded.
Because of its proximity to the Tunisian coastal city of Sfax, Lampedusa has for years been one of the main destinations for migrants from North Africa seeking to reach European shores.
The island's city council declared a state of emergency on Wednesday.