Radical new proposals unveiled by Italy to relieve arrival states of the brunt of mass migration were "discussed positively" by European Union nations attending at a mini-summit in Brussels, EU Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas said on Monday.
At an informal meeting of 16 EU leaders in Brussels on Sunday, Italy's Giuseppe Conte called for shared EU responsibility for rescued migrants and penalties for countries refusing to accept quotas.
In a document presented at the talks, Conte urged migrant "protection centres" to be established in other EU countries to relieve the burden on Italy, which has received over 700,000 migrants since 2014 and recently turned away two migrant boats.
"Whoever lands in Italy lands in Europe.... Schengen is at risk," the document said. The Schengen zone of passport-free travel covers most of the EU and some other European countries.
Even though migrant landings in Italy have fallen dramatically this year, the EU's priority should be stemming the influx of migrants into the bloc, not regulating the "secondary" movement of migrants across the EU's borders, according to the document.
Italy's 'European Multilevel Strategy for Migration' also rejects as "unfit for purpose" the so-called Dublin rule requiring migrants to register and apply for asylum in the first European country they reach.
"The rescue obligation cannot become an obligation to process applications on behalf of all," it said.
The Italian proposals seek to move away from an "emergency approach" to a more "structural" system, Conte told the meeting.
Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel and Spain's new prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, both said on Sunday there had been "a good discussion" at the meeting.
Merkel said all countries, not just "first asylum" countries "should share all the burdens" of migration and that migrants should not be able to decide where to apply for asylum.
Merkel, Conte and France's president Emanuel Macron agreed there needed to be a common European management of migration flows and Macron said Europe would boost its border force and work more closely with Libya and with the Balkans - another main migrant transit point.
The Italian document will feed into the EU summit of heads of state and government on Thursday and Friday at which migration is set to be a key topic.
