Rome and Paris have bolstered their relations and pledged to strengthen cooperation to combat illegal migration, foreign minister Antonio Tajani said Friday after talks with France's premier Michel Barnier in the southern coastal town of Menton near the border with Italy.
"Relations between France and Italy have strengthened today, thanks to the invitation we had from the French prime minister," Tajani told reporters.
"It has been a very positive day with extremely positive meetings on concrete issues. We will work together to fight human traffickers and illegal immigration," he said.
Tajani and Italy's interior minister Matteo Piantedosi met security forces in Menton who patrol the Italian-French border, together with Barnier, and France's interior minister, Bruno Retailleau.
Immigration has become a "key issue" for Europe and was high on the agenda at this week's European Council meeting, Tajani underlined.
EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen signalled a growing commitment from Europe to solving the problem of illegal immigration but also to creating legal migration channels, he noted.
"Cooperation among European countries is crucial and we are working to better protect our borders," Tajani said.
"We need to carry out a series of checks, there is the issue of visas and agreements with transit countries and migrants' countries of origin," he added.
"On these questions there is perfect harmony with the Barnier government," Tajani underlined.
In the coming months, cooperation between all Italian and French ministries will produce optimal results, according to Tajani.
"I believe this," Tajani said.
Barnier agreed with Tajani's remarks, praising the "effective" cooperation between France and Italy on fighting illegal immigration.
Franco-Italian collaboration over illegal migration should "symbolise the action that we must also request from the other countries of the European Union to deal with this issue," Barnier concluded.
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