Italy's populist government wants asylum seekers' claims to be assessed at reception centres in Libya and elsewhere in North Africa to ensure that only genuine refugees are allowed into Europe, anti-migrant interior minister Matteo Salvini said on Thursday.
"Our project is to set up reception centres in North Africa, before migrants set sail aboard the people traffickers' boats," Salvini told Italian public broadcaster Rai's Agora chat show.
"In this way, we know in advance who has the right to travel to Europe," Salvini continued.
Salvini expressed confidence that the European Union will reform its current immigration and asylum rules requiring migrants to register and claim asylum in the first European country they enter - which is most often Italy.
"I am hopeful the Dublin Regulation will be revised. Every year, Italy pays six billion euros to the EU - only to get a poke in the eye in return," Salvini said.
"If there is no change, we will be forced to review this funding."
He accused Spain and Malta of taking far fewer migrants than they should and other EU countries of "looking the other way" as the Mediterranean migration crisis continues despite a recent drop in the number of arrivals and of asylum claims.
Renewed and deep divisions have arisen between and within European governments over the migrant influx and the EU's current asylum system, prompting European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker to convene an emergency meeting in Brussels on Sunday on migration.
The leaders of Germany, France, Italy, Greece, Austria, Bulgaria, Spain and Malta have all been invited to attend Sunday's meeting which comes just four days ahead of the June European Council summit at which migration will be a key focus.
Italy, where over 700,000 boat migrants have arrived since 2014, has called in vain for other EU states to share the burden. Salvini who took office in early June, has vowed to deport half a million illegal immigrants from Italy.
