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STORY: European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen visited Lampedusa on Sunday, the small Italian island struggling with a surge in migrant arrivals, to lay out an EU action plan.

Von der Leyen was accompanied by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who has made fighting illegal immigration a cornerstone of her rise to power.

Nearly 126,000 migrants have arrived in Italy so far this year, almost double the figure by the same date in 2022.

Lampedusa has recently seen a sharp rise in the number of people arriving by boat, with more than 7,000 landing in the last week alone, more than the island's permanent population.

On their way to visit a migrant reception center, Von der Leyen and Meloni’s car was briefly blocked by locals protesting the burden placed on the island, and opposing a plan to build new tent camps to host migrants.

Meloni, for whom the surge in migrants has been a major political headache, told the protesters they were “doing their best” to find a solution.

Later in the day, Von der Leyen set out a 10-point EU action plan to relieve pressure on Italy, where most migrants arrive from North Africa’s shores by boat.

“But we will decide who comes to the European Union and under what circumstances, and not the smugglers and traffickers."

The plan includes using the EU’s borders agency Frontex to identify migrants arriving in Italy and repatriate those not eligible for asylum.

And to supply Tunisia’s coastguard with equipment to help curb migration at points of departure.

Von der Leyen also vowed to increase access to legal channels for the migrants to reduce smuggling:

"The most effective measure to counter the smugglers' lies are legal pathways and humanitarian corridors. We will offer migrants real alternatives through this humanitarian admission."

For her part, Meloni reiterated points from her hardline immigration platform, stressing the importance of preventing people from leaving for Europe in the first place, rather than “redistributing migrants within European borders.”

Meloni’s cabinet will meet Monday to approve tough immigration measures, including building new detention and repatriation centers, and extending the maximum time for which migrants can be held.