Italy warns Europe over migrant Crisis

Italy yesterday threatened to turn to a Plan B to deal with migrants which "would hurt Europe" if the country is not given greater help with the crisis, as Austria and France expelled asylum seekers back onto Italian soil.

The country is struggling to accommodate an endless wave of boat migrants, and a crackdown on security at the French and Austrian borders over the past few days has exacerbated the situation, causing a bottleneck at Italy's train stations.

The crisis "should not be underestimated", Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said in an interview published in the Corriere della Sera daily.

"If the European Council chooses solidarity, then good. If it doesn't, we have a Plan B ready but that would be a wound inflicted on Europe," he said, without giving details.

He stepped up calls for a change to European asylum rules as neighbouring states tightened border controls, turning back African migrants and leaving hundreds stranded at the frontier in northern Italy.

In the interview, Renzi said that after toppling Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, the international community bore responsibility for chaos in Libya that has opened the way for hundreds of thousands of migrants to cross by boat to southern Italy.

He called for a change to the so-called Dublin regulations, which assign most asylum seekers to the EU country they first enter and said he would discuss the issue with French President Francois Hollande and British Prime Minister David Cameron when they visit Italy this week.