We cannot be Europe's refugee camp, Italy tells Brussels

Italy's Minister of the Interior, Matteo Salvini in the Sicilian port of Pozzallo, where many of the migrant rescue ships dock. Photo / AP

Matteo Salvini, Italy's new Interior Minister, declared that the country could no longer serve as "Europe's refugee camp", as he pledged to press European Union officials for asylum law reform.

During a visit to a migrant reception centre in the southern Sicilian port of Pozzallo, the leader of the far-right League party said shipwrecks off Tunisia and Turkey that left dozens dead at the weekend could have been prevented.

"Every life is sacred - to save lives you have to stop the departures of these death boats, which is a lucrative business for some and a disgrace for the rest of the world," said Salvini, who was sworn in as Interior Minister as part of the new populist Government formed by the League and the anti-establishment Five Star Movement.

The attempt to shape the migration issue around saving lives was a shift in rhetoric for the firebrand, who rose to power on an anti-immigration promise to boot out more than 500,000 people with a "kick in the a***".

On Sunday he told a rally in the north: "The good times for illegals is over - get ready to pack your bags."

However, while softening his delivery for a European audience, his message in advance of an EU meeting on asylum policy tomorrow was unchanged.

"Fewer landings and more expatriations. It is not a hard line, just common sense," said Salvini.

He joins a long list of Italian leaders to call for changes to the EU's Dublin Treaty, which mandates that asylum seekers are processed in the country of their arrival.

The visit came as more than 35 migrants were killed when their boat sank off Tunisia's coast. Nine migrants, including six children, drowned off Turkey.

After nearly three months of political chaos, leaders of Italy's coalition were eager to show they are ready to work.

Luigi Di Maio, the leader of Five Star Movement, posted a video of himself settling into his new office, while Giuseppe Conte, the Prime Minister-designate, took calls from fellow European leaders, including Chancellor Angela Merkel, who invited him to Berlin for "open and constructive" talks.

"I will openly approach and work with the new Italian government rather than speculating on its intentions," she told Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung newspaper. "Germany has an elementary interest in an effective Europe."

The Chancellor refused to be drawn on fears the new Government may pull Italy out of the euro. "It is my basic belief that every election result and every democratically elected government deserves respect," she said.

Italy cannot afford you, League tells migrantshttps://t.co/hDNZRAzQja

— The Times (@thetimes) June 4, 2018

Merkel also restated her belief that a single asylum system is the answer to Europe's migration concerns.

Salvini was quick to capitalise on Germany's support, telling reporters "even Merkel says Italy has been left too long on its own".

A small group of protesters held up "welcome refugees" banners outside the centre during Salvini's visit.

Police are investigating two attacks against migrants in southern Italy over the weekend, including the death of a 29-year-old migrant from Mali, who was shot in the head as he entered an abandoned factory to search for scrap metal to sell.

In Naples, a Pakistani kebab shop owner was admitted to hospital after men burst into his eatery and beat him with motorcycle helmets.