"island from Tunisia and Libya. By the end of August, 48,000 had arrived. Most were young males in their 20s and 30s. The situation has caused division within the EU, the French government regarding most of the arrivals as economic migrants rather than refugees in fear of persecution. Italy has repeatedly requested aid from the EU in managing refugees, but has been turned down. In July 2013, Pope Francis visited the island on his first official visit outside of Rome. He prayed for migrants, living and dead, and denounced their traffickers. In October 2013, the 2013 Lampedusa disaster occurred; a"
"Quadro Group The Quadro Group is a group of four member states of the European Union (Cyprus, Greece, Italy, and Malta) established in November 2008 at the ministerial level at the initiative of Malta. Spain has also expressed interest to join the group. The group is based on the shared concern for illegal immigration and asylum. All four countries are facing major influxes of migrants across the Mediterranean Sea, coming from or through North Africa. The sometimes dire situation has been widely reported by the media, notably for the Italian island of Lampedusa. Within the European Union, this group pushes"
"for: Quadro Group The Quadro Group is a group of four member states of the European Union (Cyprus, Greece, Italy, and Malta) established in November 2008 at the ministerial level at the initiative of Malta. Spain has also expressed interest to join the group. The group is based on the shared concern for illegal immigration and asylum. All four countries are facing major influxes of migrants across the Mediterranean Sea, coming from or through North Africa. The sometimes dire situation has been widely reported by the media, notably for the Italian island of Lampedusa. Within the European Union, this group"
"Panteleria, Lampedusa, Lampione and Linosa islands, and West Germany from the NATO side, and the cessation of demilitarization of Bulgaria, Romania, East Germany, Hungary and Finland from the Warsaw Pact's side. Turkey, on the other hand, denounces this as an aggressive act by Greece and as a breach of international treaties. From a legal perspective, three groups of islands may be distinguished: (a) the islands right off the Turkish Dardanelles straits, i.e. Lemnos and Samothrace; (b) the Dodecanese islands in the southeast Aegean; and (c) the remaining northeast Aegean islands (Lesbos, Chios, Samos, and Ikaria). These islands were placed under"
"of Sicily in Europe - much closer than the distance to the closest African coast. The nearby Italian island of Lampedusa (principal island of the Pelagie Islands) is from Sicily while just from the African coast; similarly, Pantelleria is from Sicily and just from the African coast. All of these Mediterranean islands are actually located on the African plate, and may be considered part of the continent of Africa. However, for political and historical reasons, maps generally display them as part of Europe. A single Spanish islet, known as Alboran Island, is also debateably located on either the African plate"
"others (larger) being in southern Calabria (close to Reggio Calabria). The nature reserve, covering all three islands, was instituted in 2002. Pelagie Islands The Pelagie Islands (, ), from the Greek , meaning ""open sea"", are the three small islands of Lampedusa, Linosa, and Lampione, located in the Mediterranean Sea between Malta and Tunisia, south of Sicily. To the northwest lie the island of Pantelleria and the Strait of Sicily. Geographically part of the archipelago (Lampedusa and Lampione) belongs to the African continent; politically and administratively the islands fall within the Sicilian province of Agrigento and represent the southernmost part"
"Spain Spain ( ), officially the Kingdom of Spain (), is a country mostly located on the Iberian Peninsula in Europe. Its territory also includes two archipelagoes: the Canary Islands off the coast of Africa, and the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea. The African enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla make Spain the only European country to have a physical border with an African country (Morocco). Several small islands in the Alboran Sea are also part of Spanish territory. The country's mainland is bordered to the south and east by the Mediterranean Sea except for a small land boundary with"
"Lampedusa immigrant reception center Lampedusa immigrant reception center, officially Reception Center (CDA) of Lampedusa, has been operating since 1998, when the Italian island of Lampedusa became a primary European entry point for immigrants from Africa. The reception center's capacity of 801 people has been greatly exceeded by numerous boat people arriving from various parts of Africa. Since the early 2000s, with the onset of the ever increasing mass migration to Europe, Lampedusa has become a prime transit point for irregular migrants from Africa, the Middle East and Asia wanting to enter Europe. In 2004, the Libyan and Italian governments reached"
"by Portugal; on the south, it is bordered by Gibraltar (a British overseas territory) and Morocco, through its exclaves in North Africa (Ceuta and Melilla, and the peninsula of Vélez de la Gomera). On the northeast, along the Pyrenees mountain range, it is bordered by France and the Principality of Andorra. Along the Pyrenees in Girona, a small exclave town called Llívia is surrounded by France. Extending to , the Portugal–Spain border is the longest uninterrupted border within the European Union. Spain also includes the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea, the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean and a"
"A ferry service links the island with Porto Empedocle, near Agrigento, Sicily. There are also year-round flights from Lampedusa Airport to Palermo and Catania on the Sicilian mainland. In the summer, there are additional services to Rome and Milan, besides many other seasonal links with the Italian mainland. Since the early 2000s, the island has become a primary European entry point for migrants, mainly coming from Africa. In 2013, Rabbit Beach (it. ""Spiaggia dei Conigli""), located in the southern part of the island, was voted the world's best beach by travel site TripAdvisor. The name ""Lampedusa"" derives from the ancient"
"Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Isle of Man, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Leeward Islands French, Leeward Island Netherlands, Macau, Malaysia, Mallorca, Mexico, Minorca, Martinique, Pierre & Miquelon, Monaco, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Nevis, Palestine, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Prince Edward Island, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Rhodes, Romania, Russia, Saba, Scotland, Serbia, Sharjah, Sicily, Singapore, South Korea, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, St. Barts, St. John, St. Kitts, St. Croix, St. Lucia, St. Maarten, St. Martin, St. Thomas, St. Vincent, Sumatra, Sweden, Switzerland, Tahiti, Tasmania, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey in Asia, Turkey in Europe, Ukraine, Ulster,"
"Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uzbekistan. Afghanistan, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen. Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, Cook Islands, Fiji, Japan, Kiribati, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Micronesia (Federated States of), Mongolia, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Taiwan,"
"eight members had been dropped by all members except Germany and Austria. Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia became members on 1 May 2004, but some areas of cooperation in the European Union will apply to some of the EU member states at a later date. These are: Since 1974 Cyprus has been divided between the Greek south (the Republic of Cyprus) and the northern areas under Turkish military occupation (the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus). The Republic of Cyprus is recognised as the sole legitimate government by most countries, including the entire"
"Italy Italy ( ), officially the Italian Republic ( ), is a country in Europe. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino, and Vatican City. Italy covers an area of and has a largely temperate seasonal and Mediterranean climate. With around 61 million inhabitants, it is the fourth-most populous EU member state and the most populous country in Southern Europe. Due to its central geographic location in Europe and the Mediterranean, Italy has historically been home to a myriad of peoples and cultures. In addition to the"
"of Italy, the Islands, Dalmatia, Albania, German Austria, Montenegro, Croatia, German Irredentists now under Poland, Czecho-Slovakia, France and Italy (with reservations: autonomy) and the Pseudo-League of Nations, Catalonia, Malta, Gibraltar, Ireland, the Flemish. Islam, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Syria, Palestine, Mesopotamia, India, Persia, Afghanistan. India, Burma, China, Korea, The Philippines, Hawaii, Panama, Cuba, Puerto Rico. Oppressed races: The Chinese in California, the Blacks of America. The Israeli problem. II. – Representatives of the countries unjustly damaged by the Treaty of Versailles: Russia, Romania, Belgium, Portugal, Siam, Germany, Bulgaria, Turkey, The Holy See. III. – Delegations of parties and groups"
"were 88 members (down from previous membership due to the withdrawal of Greece effective from 30 June 2013). Current (2013) members are: Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Cameroon, Chile, People's Republic of China, Republic of the Congo, Costa Rica, Ivory Coast, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark (which also acts as the Kingdom with the Faroe Islands and Greenland), Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Eritrea, Estonia, Finland, France, Gabon, the Gambia, Germany, Grenada, Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Republic of Korea, Kiribati, Laos, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mali, Republic"
"forms part of the European Union – the largest landmass for an area outside of Europe (since Greenland left the European Community in 1985), with one of the longest EU external boundaries. It is one of only three European Union territories outside Europe that is not an island (the others being the Spanish Autonomous Cities in Africa, Ceuta and Melilla). As an integral part of France, its head of state is the President of the French Republic, and its head of government is the Prime Minister of France. The French Government and its agencies have responsibility for a wide range"
"Although the country includes the Italian peninsula, adjacent islands and most of the southern Alpine basin, some of Italy's territory extends beyond the Alpine basin and some islands are located outside the Eurasian continental shelf. These territories are the ""comuni"" of: Livigno, Sexten, Innichen, Toblach (in part), Chiusaforte, Tarvisio, Graun im Vinschgau (in part), which are all part of the Danube's drainage basin, while the Val di Lei constitutes part of the Rhine's basin and the islands of Lampedusa and Lampione are on the African continental shelf. Four different seas surround the Italian Peninsula in the Mediterranean Sea from three"
"today comprises 43 members: 28 European Union member states, and 15 partner countries (Albania, Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, Syria and Tunisia, as well as the Palestinian Territories). Libya has had observer status since 1999. The Euro-Mediterranean Free Trade Area (EU-MEFTA) is based on the Barcelona Process and European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP). It will cover the EU, the EFTA, the EU customs unions with third states (Andorra, San Marino, and Turkey), the EU candidate states, and the partners of the Barcelona Process. The Union for the Mediterranean is a community of countries,"
"geographically in Asia, has already joined both the Council of Europe and the EU. Furthermore, the Cape Verde islands are part of the same island group as the Canary Islands (part of Spain), Madeira Islands (part of Portugal) and Azores Islands (part of Portugal), known as Macaronesia. There is currently no political recognition by the EU of Cape Verde as a European state, but unlike in the case of Morocco, there is no formal rejection either. Complementing Cape Verde's efforts to join the EU, the Macaronesian group of islands (the Azores, Madeira, and the Canary Islands) are throwing their support"
"of Malta, and Vatican City). These include: Albania, Algeria, Afghanistan, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Austria, Argentina, Bahamas, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bolivia, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, the People's Republic of China, Columbia, Comoros, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, DR Congo, East Timor, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, The Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Grenada, Haiti, Holy See (Vatican City), Honduras, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran,"
"a constituent of Republic of Cyprus. The United Kingdom has two sovereign base areas on Cyprus, namely Akrotiri and Dhekelia. Unlike other British overseas territories, they are not listed as Overseas Countries and Territories under the Treaty of Rome and their inhabitants (who are entitled to British Overseas Territories Citizenship) have never been entitled to British citizenship. Prior to Cypriot accession to the EU in 2004, EU law did not apply to the sovereign base areas. This position was changed by the Cypriot accession treaty and EU law, while still not applying in principle, applies to the extent necessary to"
"Gibraltar, the governments of Spain and the United Kingdom made the following Declaration which is appended (as Declaration 55) to the Treaty on European Union: ""The Treaties apply to Gibraltar as a European territory for whose external relations a Member State is responsible. This shall not imply changes in the respective positions of the Member States concerned."" Helgoland is an island of Germany situated in the North Sea off the German north-western coast. It is part of the EU, but is excluded from the customs union and the VAT area. Mount Athos is an autonomous monastic region of Greece. Greece's"
"EU Med Group EU Med or EuroMed 7, which is also referred to as ""Club Med"" and ""Med Group"", is an alliance of seven Southern European Union member states, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal and Spain. All have Greco-Roman heritage and, with the exception of Portugal, all border the Mediterranean Sea. The Group was informally established on 17 December 2013 in Brussels at the initiative of the Foreign Ministers of Cyprus and Spain in order to create coordination on issues of common interest within the EU. It was decided that the group would hold an annual meeting at the"
"Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Guernsey, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Jersey, Korea, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Montserrat, Netherlands, Niue, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Seychelles, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, United Kingdom Starting to report in 2018: Albania, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Australia, Austria, The Bahamas, Bahrain, Belize, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, China, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Dominica, Ghana, Grenada, Hong Kong (China), Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Marshall Islands, Macao (China), Malaysia, Mauritius, Monaco, Nauru, New Zealand, Pakistan, Panama, Qatar, Russia, Saint Kitts"
"Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and United Kingdom. Croatia, Cyprus, Liechtenstein, and Turkey joined in 2001. In 2003, Albania, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Holy See (a Council of Europe permanent observer), Macedonia, Russia, and Serbia signed the convention. Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine followed in 2005. Montenegro joined in 2007. Finally, Kazakhstan (not a member of the Council of Europe) joined in 2010. This makes a total of 47 member states. Monaco and"
"Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Chad, Chile, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, El Salvador, Fiji, Finland, France, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kiribati, Latvia, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Macedonia, Malawi, Mali, Mexico, Montenegro, Mozambique, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, South Korea, Moldova, Romania, Rwanda, Senegal, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Haiti is the most recent to accede to"
"June. Half of them opted to claim asylum in France, insofar as France opened the doors to anyone from the ""Aquarius"". In August 2018, Spain refused entry to the vessel carrying 141 migrants from Eritrea and Somalia as Spain is not the closest safe port, as stipulated by international law. They were distributed among France, Germany, Luxembourg, Portugal and Spain. On 20 September 2018 the Aquarius picked up 10 Pakistanis and a Person from Ivory Coast from a dinghy 28 nautical miles from the Libyan coast and 120 miles from the closest European shore, the Italian island Lampedusa. The same"
"(i.e. they enjoy access to European Union countries of physical exports without tariff barriers). Other Community rules do not apply to the Islands. The UK Sovereign Base Areas, Akrotiri and Dhekelia on Cyprus did not join the European Union when the United Kingdom joined. Cyprus' Accession Treaty specifically stated that this would not change with the accession of Cyprus to the European Union. However, currently, some provisions of the EU Law are applicable there—mainly border management, food safety and free movement of people and goods. The Faroe Islands, a self-governing nation within the Kingdom of Denmark, are not part of"
"also performs tasks similar to a King's Commissioner. The current representative is Gilbert Isabella. The islands do not form part of the European Union and instead constitute ""overseas countries and territories"" (OCT status) of the Union, to which special provisions apply. The Lisbon Treaty introduced a procedure where the European Council may change the status of an overseas territory of Denmark, France, or the Netherlands regarding the application of the EU treaties to that territory. In June 2008, the Dutch government published a survey of the legal and economic impacts by a switched status from OCT to OMR (""outermost region"")."
"Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, Fiji, France, Gabon, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Kuwait, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Namibia, Netherlands, Nepal, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Norway, Oman, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Rwanda, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda,"
"Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand Americas (15) Argentina, Barbados, Canada, Chile, Cuba, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Jamaica, Paraguay, Peru, Republic of Dominica, Trinidad and Tobago, United States of America, Venezuela Europe (36) Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of San Marino, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, Vatican City (Holy See) Middle East, Africa (32) Algeria, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ghana, Israel, Jordan, Kingdom"
"parts of the world, especially in Austria, the United States, Malta, Argentina, Britain, Jamaica, Micronesia, Ethiopia, Netherlands, Italy, Equatorial Guinea, Monaco, Turkey, Faroe Islands, Brazil, Denmark, Sweden, Philippines, Fiji, Dominica, Iceland, Nauru, Greenland, Liechtenstein, Canada, Germany, Portugal, New Zealand, Zaire, Latvia, Ireland, Spain, Sri Lanka, Guinea-Bissau, Indonesia, Lebanon, Japan, Bahrain, Iraq, Iran, Timor-Leste, Afghanistan, Luxembourg, Bangladesh, Tuvalu, Andorra, Azerbaijan, Jordan, Oman, Venezuela, Mexico, Gibraltar, Poland, South Africa, Turkmenistan, Israel, Greece, Outer Mongolia, Mozambique, Bahamas, Mali, El Salvador, Botswana, Algeria, Laos, Yemen, Bulgaria, Norway, Singapore, South Korea, North Korea, Baltic States, Thailand, Swaziland, India, Hong Kong, Romania, Zimbabwe, Vatican City, Ukraine,"