Migrants on Italian coast guard ship to go to 5 EU nations

Italy says five nations have agreed to take some rescued migrants waiting on an Italian coast guard ship and some of the passengers will be hosted in properties of Italian bishops.

The migrants were picked up during two Mediterranean Sea rescue missions last week and put aboard the coast guard vessel, which has been docked off Sicily for days.

Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said Wednesday he would let the 116 migrants disembark now that Germany, Portugal, France, Luxembourg and Ireland agreed to take most of them.

Salvini said on Facebook: “Problem resolved.”

The agreement is the latest European Union-brokered solution to a stalemate over rescued migrants. But another standoff looms.

Salvini tweeted that he’ll forbid a German charity’s rescue boat to dock in Italy with 40 migrants rescued off Libya.