Italy's Interior Minister, Roberto Maroni, has sent a letter to the rotating Presidency of the European Council and to the European Commission, in order to ensure that "the crisis in North African countries and the issue of immigration and internal security in Europe are on the agenda at the next Council of Home Affairs and Justice", the Ministry reports.

Maroni, in Venice, was speaking about the new wave of immigration from Tunisia to Italy, following the jasmine revolution, saying that "there is a risk of a real humanitarian emergency". "The serious crisis in North Africa, particularly in Tunisia and Egypt, is leading to mass flight towards Italy," Maroni said. "Hundreds of people are arriving on the Italian coasts and we are doing all we can to tackle a real humanitarian crisis."

Maroni said that the problem "is that the bilateral agreement we have with Tunisia, which has so far allowed us to efficiently manage illegal immigration, is not enforced by Tunis because of the crisis situation. The Tunisian authorities are unable to tackle the situation".

To tackle the emergency, "there are a number of instruments available" in Italy, which will be examined by the National Committee for Order and Safety that Maroni and the Foreign Minister have called for this week.

Maroni said that he had requested "the involvement of the European Commission, because the instruments necessary to remedy this situation cannot be contributed by Italy alone”, ANSAmed reported.