The European Union must take over the boat patrol mission that has rescued tens of thousands of migrants from the Mediterranean since the start of the year, the Italian Senate said Thursday. In a binding resolution, the upper chamber urged the government to "adopt every useful initiative, also considering the start of the Italian presidency of the European Union, to transform the Mare Nostrum operation into a European Union mission." According to dpa, Italy is facing a record inflow of migrants sailing off from North Africa, many of them refugees from Syria. Officials estimate that over 50,000 people have entered the country via sea since January 1, compared to less than 43,000 over the entire course of 2013. During a parliamentary debate on Wednesday, the opposition Northern League and Forza Italia parties evoked the possibility that by the end of the year "more than 100,000" boat migrants will have landed on Italian shores.
