Foreign minister Luigi Di Maio on Friday blasted Hungary on Monday after its foreign minister criticised the Italian government's decision to allow 82 rescued migrants ashore at the weekend after six days at sea.
"The judgment expressed by the Hungarian government is entirely specious," Di Maio said in a statement after Peter Szijjarto told state news channel M1 on Sunday that the migrant landings on Lampedusa were "regrettable and dangerous".
"For years, Italy has been experiencing an emergency caused, above all, by the indifference of some European partners such as Hungary," Di Maio said.
"Those who do not accept migrant quotas must be punished harshly."
Italy - where some 700,000 migrants have arrived since 2014 - refuses "take care of a problem that concerns the entire European Union" Di Maio said, doubling down on the stance of successive Italian governments.
The new left-leaning Italian government allowed the migrants aboard the Ocean Viking charity ship to disembark on Lampedusa as most of those on board will be relocated to other EU countries, according to Di Maio.
In future European offices must be set up in transit countries in which migrants can apply for asylum so those whose applications a succeed can be transferred to various European countries via humanitarian corridors, he said.
"In this way we put an end to the hell of human trafficking and everyone shoulders their responsibilities," Di Maio concluded.
