(ANSA) - Rome, June 21 - Premier Giuseppe Conte said that he
had spoken to German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday and
won assurances that a draft document for Sunday's meeting of
eight EU states on migrants would be binned after it irked Rome.
Interior Minister and Deputy Premier Matteo Salvini had
suggested Conte might snub Sunday's meeting after the draft put
great stress on the stopping secondary movements of migrants
within the EU and speeding procedures to send them back to the
State where they first arrived - which is frequently Italy.
Conte told European Council President Donald Tusk in Rome on
Wednesday that it was unthinkable for Italy to also have to take
migrants that have made secondary movements, given that it
already is widely recognised as being the country most exposed
to primary migrant flows.
The premier said on Facebook Thursday that Merkel had called
because she was worried that he might not attend the meeting.
"The Chancellor clarified that there was a misunderstanding,"
Conte said. "The draft released yesterday will be shelved".