There is a risk of foreign fighters from the Middle East and Africa being among asylum seekers arriving in Europe, Italy's populist premier Giuseppe Conte claimed on Wednesday.
"Immigration may bring with it the risk and danger of foreign fighters who may enter," Conte told reporters in Brussels on Wednesday, where he is attending a NATO summit through Thursday.
"Given the current instability in the Middle East and in some areas of North Africa, these threats could materialise," Conte said.
Faced with this danger, it is in Italy's interests to boost security on NATO's "southern front" where the risk of terrorism "is very significant," Conte stated.
"This is also in the interest of all our allies," he said.
