The huge number of migrants who arrived in Italy by sea from North Africa is testing the endurance of the Italian government and intensifies the pressure on the prime minister Georgia Melonias had promised tighter controls.

More than 7,000 migrants from North Africa arrived on Tuesday and Wednesday in Lampedusa, one of the main gateways to Europe, number equal to the population of the islandwhich declared a state of emergency.

Members of the ruling coalition accuse the EU of not offering enough support both to Italy and to other members of the union which are under pressure from immigration.

Meloni led a deal in July between the EU and Tunisia to limit migration flowsbut so far the results of reaching the agreement seem to be poor.

What members of the government of Rome and the prime minister herself emphasize Georgia Meloni is that the country cannot continue to be under such great pressure and that new support measures are needed from Europe. Immigration will be a main topic of discussion in the next cabinetat the Palazzo Kitzi palace on Monday, while Meloni is expected to raise it again at the European summit in October.

The head of the Italian government addressed the issue yesterday in an interview with RAI and pointed out that “the issue of relocations is of secondary importance, in recent months they have been minimal. The problem is to stop the arrival of migrants in Italy, but I still don’t see any concrete answers coming.”Meloni pointed out.

She confirmed that “some time ago Italy informed its partners that it cannot automatically take back those who sought asylum in other countries and had originally entered Europe from Italy”. “Our hotspots are full and Europe must help us protect our borders”said the head of the Italian government.

For his part, the Minister of Transport and its secretary Matteo Salvini League he revealed in his statements that “the Italian secret services have been dealing with this phenomenon for the last few days, in order to verify a series of facts” while he added that, “if the arrivals continue at an unabated rate, Italy can adopt all possible measures to deal with of the problem”.

“The problem is the departures from Tunisia, the necessary control is not exercised. And I can say that this increase in arrivals to Lampedusa is not accidental. I think someone wants to embarrass me, a government that “doesn’t fit”Salvini said.

“Human trafficking is in the hands of organized crime, it is about profits of millions of euros and an “act of war” against Italy. If the arrivals continue at this rate, my country will collapse.”emphasized Italian Minister of Transport and Deputy Prime Minister Meloni.

The government has also taken a hard line against NGOs involved in rescuing migrants, banning them from carrying out multiple rescues and forcing them to travel longer distances to disembark migrants.

French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin called a meetingwhich will take place this afternoon, on the “migration situation” in Lampedusa, the small Italian island facing record migrant arrivals.

The meeting will take place in the afternoon with the participation of “the competent services” of the police, gendarmerie and immigration, according to the interior ministry.

During his visit to Mendon on Tuesday Darmanen had announced that efforts to curb irregular immigration would be stepped up at France’s border with Italy, where Paris is seeing a “100% increase in flows”..

The minister has not yet clarified whether France will follow the decision of Germany, which announced on Wednesday the suspension of the voluntary reception of asylum seekers from Italy, as provided for in the European treaties, because of “the great migratory pressure” and the refusal of Rome to implement these treaties.