““The stepped-up patrols began last October after 366 migrants fleeing African countries drowned when their boat capsized a mile from Sicily. After that episode, the European Union pledged nearly $41 million in emergency funds, mainly for financing immigration facilities. The number of migrants who have reached Italy by boat this year has already topped the total of more than 40,000 for the whole of 2013. The pace of arrivals is on track to exceed the record of 62,000 set in 2011.””
