Austrian Chancellor Says Met With Italy's Prime Minister To Discuss Migration Crisis

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said on Tuesday that he had met with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte in Rome to discuss cooperation on tackling illegal migration to Europe as well as Brexit, ahead of an informal EU summit in the Austrian city of Salzburg.

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th September, 2018) Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said on Tuesday that he had met with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte in Rome to discuss cooperation on tackling illegal migration to Europe as well as Brexit, ahead of an informal EU summit in the Austrian city of Salzburg.

"I was happy to meet with Italy's Prime Minister @GiuseppeConteIT in #Rome today to prepare tomorrow's informal Summit in #Salzburg. We discussed the main issues on the agenda of the #SalzburgSummit18, ie #Brexit and #migration. #Italy has already done a lot to fight illegal #migration - arrivals on the Central Mediterranean Route have been reduced by 80 percent," Kurz wrote on Twitter.

The official went on to say that the EU member states needed to speed up policy changes adopted at the June European Council and increase cooperation with transit countries to prevent the flow of undocumented migrants.

The summit in the Austrian city of Salzburg will be held from Wednesday to Thursday, and is set to focus on Brexit and on the ways of settling the migration crisis in Europe.

Italy's new coalition government led by the Lega party is pursuing a hard line policy on migration. Earlier, party leader and Italian Interior Minister Mateo Salvini said that Italy could not remain Europe's "refugee camp" while neighboring countries closed their borders and defended their frontiers with weapons. At the same time, Austria serves as the final destination for migrants seeking its high quality of life.