Austria, Germany, Italy form 'axis' against illegal immigration: Kurz

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Europe

The hardline interior ministers of Austria, Germany and Italy have formed an "axis of the willing" to combat illegal immigration into the EU, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said Wednesday.

"I am happy about the good cooperation that we want to develop between Rome, Vienna and Berlin – I think it marks very sensible cooperation that will contribute to reducing illegal migration to Europe," Kurz, whose country assumes the EU's rotating presidency on July 1, said after talks with German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer in Berlin.

"We believe an axis of the willing is needed to fight illegal migration."

Meanwhile, Italy's Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said Wednesday that without an "official apology" from France, a planned meeting between Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday should be cancelled.

French President Emmanuel Macron (L) shakes hands at a bilateral meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte at the G7 summit in Charlevoix, Canada, June 9, 2018. /VCG Photo‍

"If an official apology doesn't arrive, Prime Minister Conte would be right not to go to France," Salvini told reporters after demanding that France take in more migrants.

Macron had blasted Italy for its "cynicism and irresponsibility" in refusing to welcome 629 migrants left stranded on a French rescue ship in the Mediterranean before Spain agreed to take them in.

Italy's Foreign Affairs Minister Enzo Moavero Milanesi summoned the French ambassador to Rome over the comments on Wednesday, saying in a statement that "the Italian government considers unacceptable the words publicly pronounced yesterday in Paris."

France's foreign ministry then said it fully understood the strain that migration had placed on Italy and that the two countries would discuss solutions to the crisis when their leaders meet on Friday in Paris.

"We are fully aware of the burden that the migration pressure is placing on Italy and the efforts that this country is making," foreign ministry spokeswoman Agnes von der Muhll said in a daily briefing on Wednesday.

"We are committed to the dialogue and cooperation we have on these topics with Rome," Von der Muhll said, adding it was essential to quickly reach an agreement on the reform of the European asylum system, strengthen joint actions for countries of origin and transit and to reinforce the protection of Europe's external borders.

Source(s): AFP ,Reuters