CATANIA - Passengers on board the Diciotti have begun a hunger strike as they wait for the EU to make a decision about the allocation across European states, confirms Democratic Party senator, Davide Faraone

 Faraone reported after his visit on board the Diciotti: "The situation is going from bad to worse on board the Diciotti as tension grows amongst the despairing migrants. I am in constant contact with the commander and with the Port Authority of Catania and it is confirmed that the migrants have started a hunger strike.”

 “It is understandable: they are being held in hostage without a plausible reason. So far, the migrants, despite everything, have remained quiet. They had understood and accepted, after all, that there were times to wait. The Italian Coast Guard expected that there would be tension around the disembarking of the minors, because they all quite rightly want to get off, but instead everybody stayed calm. But with the conditions are worsening - the heat, the rain, only two toilets for 150 people, the uncertainty of their situation - it is a surreal and explosive situation and it is understandable what is happening.”

 For the moment there is no news from the Sherpa summit which was convened by the Directorate-General for Internal Affairs of the European Commission, in Brussels, to find long-term European solutions for the migrant crisis. Brussels had invited the councilors for European Affairs from twelve countries: Italy, France, Germany, Austria, Spain, Portugal, Luxembourg, Holland, Belgium, Malta, Greece, and Ireland.

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