MS Aquarius: why did Spain accept the disputed migrant ship?

New socialist prime minister avoids
humanitarian crisis and diffuses political stand-off

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In a statement the country’s new prime minister, Pedro Sanchez,
said he had given permission for the MS Aquarius to dock in
Valencia, adding his country would welcome all those on board.

Sanchez went on say that “It is our duty to help avoid a
humanitarian catastrophe and offer a safe harbour to these people
in accordance with international law.”

The decision by the new socialist Spanish government provides a
stark contrast to that of its Italian counterpart, which on Sunday
took the drastic step of refusing entry to the ship.

Italy’s new interior minister and leader of the far-right
League, Matteo Salvini, said on Sunday all Italian ports were
closed to Aquarius, and insisted the boat should instead dock in
Malta.

“Malta takes in nobody. France pushes people back at the border,
Spain defends its frontier with weapons. From today, Italy will
also start to say no to human trafficking, no to the business of
illegal immigration,” he wrote on Facebook.

Sky News says “the refusal – a realisation of
tough anti-immigration promises made by Italy’s new government –
left those on board in mortal danger and prompted a diplomatic spat
over the future of migrants travelling across the
Mediterranean”.

The move was widely condemned by humanitarian groups, with
reports that mayors across southern Italy, including in Palermo and
Naples, had pledged to defy Salvini’s move and open up their city’s
ports to the ship.

However, the European Commission, “anxious to avoid feeding the
new Italian government’s anti-EU narrative, took a softer line”
reports The Guardian, “calling on Italy and Malta to
consider the humanitarian needs of those on board but insisting the
matter was outside its control”.

Around 600,000 people are believed to have reached Italy by boat
from Africa since the start of the migrant crisis five years ago,
with as many as half a million estimated to still be in the
country.

While Spain’s willingness to take in the Aquarius has surprised
many observers, for the new Spanish government “it does make
political sense for several reasons” says the BBC’s Guy Hedgecoe.

“The move solves a potentially thorny problem for the European
Union, bolstering Pedro Sanchez’s hopes of becoming an influential
leader within the bloc”, he says.

It also distances Sanchez from the legacy of his conservative
predecessor, Mariano Rajoy, and “is likely to impress left-leaning
parties such as Podemos which were instrumental in voting the
Socialist in to office on 1 June, and whose support he still needs”
says Hedgecoe.