European Commission
spokeswoman Natasha Bertaud said Monday that the EU executive
was "not aware" of Premier Matteo Renzi's plan B to tackle the
migrant crisis.
Renzi said at the weekend that Italy had a plan B ready if
Italy did not get more support from the EU in managing the
emergency.
The Commission has proposed relocating 40,000 asylum
seekers from Italy and Greece to other parts of the union.
The EC plan has divided the EU, with many states, including
France, coming out against the obligation to receive the asylum
seekers.
Renzi, on the other hand, says the proposal does not go far
enough.
"We believe we have found a good balance," Bertaud said of
the proposal, which will be examined by EU interior ministers on
Tuesday before being discussed at the June 25-26 summit of
European leaders.
"We want the relocation system to be obligatory".
The EC proposal is part of its Agenda on Migration which
also features the tripling of funding for migrant rescue
operations in the southern Mediterranean and the launch of a
naval operation to target human traffickers.
Renzi's talk of a plan B was seen as a challenge to his
fellow EU leaders, with the migrant emergency visibly becoming
difficult to handle, with asylum seekers camped out at train
stations in Rome and Milan and in the city of Ventimiglia on the
border with France.
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