Italy has threatened to pull out of the European Union's search-and-rescue mission in the Mediterranean unless other EU countries agree to allow rescued migrants to land at their ports rather than just Italian ones.
Matteo Salvini, the Interior Minister, said Rome was "assessing" whether to continue with the anti-trafficking Operation Sophia after a meeting of EU defence ministers in Vienna yesterday.
Under Sophia's rules, all rescued migrants are taken to Italian ports - but Italy's coalition Government has demanded more support from other EU countries after bearing the brunt of the 2015 migration crisis.
After a day of talks, no agreement was reached on changing the landing rules of Operation Sophia.
"I feel disappointed, because I've seen that Europe is not here," Elisabetta Trenta, Italy's Defence Minister, said after the meeting.