Austria has moved four armoured vehicles to the Italian border and has 750 soldiers primed to stop migrants from crossing into the country.

With the border already beefed up, government officials have said it is likely to set up controls at the busy Alpine Brenner Pass in the south of the country 'very soon' to tackle the migrant influx.

The planned controls will not be exclusive to the key trade pass, a defence ministry spokesman said - a move that Italy warned last year would break EU rules on free movement.

'I expect border controls will be introduced very soon,' Defence Minister Peter Doskozil said on Tuesday.

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Italy has taken in more than 80,000 refugees and migrants so far this year, most of whom arrived by boat from Africa, making Italy the main point of entry to Europe. (File photo)

The Alpine Brenner Pass which shows the border between Italy and Austria in the country's south

Riot police clash with protesters during a rally against the Austrian government's planned re-introduction of border controls at the Brenner Pass border crossing to Italy on May 7, 2016 in Brenner, Austria

Both Italy and Austria are members of the European Union's Schengen open-border zone, but free movement has been jeopardised by the reimposition of controls at many crossings across the bloc since the surge in migrants seen in 2015 and 2016.

There was no immediate comment from Italy or EU officials, but Doskozil's spokesman said there was no concrete timetable for the new controls.

The spokesman added: 'We'll see how the situation in Italy is becoming more acute and we have to be prepared to avoid a situation comparable to summer 2015.'

Italy has taken in more than 80,000 refugees and migrants so far this year, most of whom arrived by boat from Africa, making Italy the main point of entry to Europe.

Back in April, Defense Minister Hans Peter Doskozil visited the production plants of the armoured vehicles - Pandur crew transport tanks - that were sent to the border.

The tanks, with a production cost of €105million, were built at General Dynamics Land Systems-Steyr GmbH in Vienna-Simmering for the Austrian Armed Forces.

Austria's bid to stem the flow of the 100,000 migrants who have already reached Europe this year A map showing the various routes that can be taken by migrants to reach Austria from Africa and the Middle East More than 100,000 migrants have made their way into Europe already this year, mainly from Africa and the Middle East. Of those, more than 82,000 travelled through Italy, which is why neighbour Austria is so concerned. There are seven main routes that migrants take to reach Europe and three of those can easily lead migrants to Austria's border. The busiest is the Central Mediterranean Route (shown above in red) which sees migrants (mainly from Northern Africa) board boats from Libya and arrive in southern Italy. From there, they can travel north to Austria's southern border. Of less concern, is the Apulia and Calabria route (shown in orange). Migrants detected in Calabria usually come from Turkey or Egypt. Similarly, they can then travel north through Italy to Austria's southern border. The third easiest option to reach Austria is the Western Balkans Route (shown in purple). This route sees migrants enter the EU in Greece and then try to make their way via the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia into Hungary and Croatia and then towards western Europe. The Western Balkans Route mainly feeds Europe from the Middle East with refugees looking to flee war-torn countries such as Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. However, with millions reaching Europe in the year 2015 and 2016, Austria already decided to act and introduced border checks on its western border with Hungary. Austrian officials are now focusing on beefing up border protection in the south to stem the flow of arrivals coming from Northern Africa into Italy. Advertisement

Austria has moved four armoured vehicles close to its border with Italy to guard against migrants and will likely set up controls on a key trade crossing 'very soon', defence ministry officials said on Tuesday. File photo

A sign at the border post between Tyrol, Austria, and South Tyrol, Italy, viewed from the Austria side on January 19, 2016

Austria has already moved heavy equipment to the province of Tyrol, which borders Italy, including four armoured vehicles to block roads, the spokesman said, adding: 'These are not battle tanks. These are armoured vehicles without weapons which could block roads.

'These were already used during the refugee crisis 2015/16 at the Spielfeld border crossing with Slovenia.'

The army would also be able to send in 750 soldiers within 72 hours to deal with emergencies, the spokesman added.

Controls at the Brenner pass would be particularly sensitive as the border there cuts across two communities that feel closely connected - Austria's Tyrol and Italy's South Tyrol.

South Tyrol was once part of the wider Austro-Hungarian empire but was annexed by Italy in 1918.

The scaling up of security at Brenner Pass has already been a point of contention in recent times when Austria was forced to send more than 300 police officers to the landmark as violent clashes erupted during pro-immigration demonstrations last year.

In May 2016, officers were injured as angry protesters hit out at similar plans to curb illegal entries to Austria.

Austrian Interior Minister Wolfgang Sobotka said then: 'It appears that here and there migrants are getting through at the Brenner, sometimes none, other times five, seven or 10. There is a also small number of asylum requests that pop up.

'So we will step up appropriate measures in the overall Brenner area.'

No border activists clash with Italian police at the Brenner train station on May 7, 2016 during demonstrations against Austria's possible decision to close the border with Italy

A view of the picturesque Brenner Pass in Austria which links the country to Italy

Italian demonstrators protest against Austria government that want close the border between Italy and Austria to migrants and refugees at the Brenner, Austria, 24 April 2016

Protesters during a rally against the Austrian government's planned re-introduction of border controls at the Brenner Pass border crossing to Italy on May 7, 2016 in Brenner, Austria

Brenner Pass is one location where border patrols are likely to be introduced

The vehicles were sent on the weekend and paves the way for a similar system as is seen on its eastern border.

In 2015, Austria introduced checks on the border with Hungary and the new measures would affect the country's Brenner Pass.

UN admits seven out of ten migrants crossing the Mediterranean from Libya are NOT refugees The UN has admitted seven in 10 people crossing the Mediterranean from Libya are economic migrants and the rest are 'people in need of protection' like refugees and asylum-seekers. The UN refugee agency says people smuggling and migrant flows in Libya are on the rise, so Europe may face increased flows of migrants and refugees in the future. UNHCR says 84,830 migrants and refugees have reached Italy's shores so far this year from Libya, which is a 19-percent increase from last year. In a new report on migration trends in Libya issued today, UNHCR noted that largely lawless Libya has become a major thoroughfare for migrants, but patterns of movement are changing. Advertisement

This year alone, more than 100,000 migrants have arrived in Europe by sea, according to the UN refugee agency.

It prompted Italy to beg other European countries to accept migrant ships and threatened to close its ports as the nation struggles to deal with record numbers.

Refugee arrivals are up nearly 19 per cent over the same period last year and Rome has threatened to close its ports to privately-funded aid boats or insist that funding be cut to EU countries which fail to help.

Italian Interior Minister Marco Minniti has now urged his French and German counterparts to discuss a 'coordinated response' to Italy's migrant crisis.

It comes as it emerged that 69 migrants have died off the Costa del Sol trying to make the perilous crossing to southern Spain - a route increasingly being used by people desperate to enter Europe.

Vincent Cochetel, the UNHCR's special envoy for the central Mediterranean, told reporters in Geneva: 'This is not sustainable. We need to have other countries joining Italy and sharing that responsibility.'

The issue has reared its head ahead of elections in Austria set for October with the anti-immigration far-right party tipped to do well.

Riot police walk along the railway tracks during a rally against the Austrian government's planned introduction of border controls at Brenner Pass in May last year

Flares are set off during a protest against the introduction of border controls in Austria in 2016

The move to stiffen the border controls prompted Italy's foreign ministry to summon the Austrian ambassador on Tuesday.

The ministry said the move followed 'the declarations of the Austrian government concerning the deployment of troops to the Brenner Pass' on the border.

Minniti attempted to play down the crisis, saying there was no emergency at Brenner Pass.

He said: 'I am frankly surprised by Austrian Defence Minister (Hans Peter) Doskozil's comments.

'This is an unjustified and unprecedented initiative which, if not immediately corrected, will inevitably create repercussions on security cooperation between the neighbouring countries.'

Bill Gates warns that Germany's open door policy to migrants will overwhelm Europe Bill Gates has warned that European leaders risk deepening the migrant crisis by being too generous to those arriving on the continent. The Microsoft founder said countries such as Germany will not be able to handle the 'huge' numbers of migrants waiting to leave Africa and find a better life overseas. Instead, the 61-year-old suggested spending more on foreign aid to treat the root causes of migration, while making it more difficult for people to reach the continent. Bill Gates warned European leaders they will worsen the migrant crisis by being over-generous to those arriving on the continent, and suggested spending more on foreign aid instead Speaking in an interview with the German Welt am Sonntag newspaper, with a translation published by Breitbart, he said: 'On the one hand you want to demonstrate generosity and take in refugees. 'But the more generous you are, the more word gets around about this — which in turn motivates more people to leave Africa. 'Germany cannot possibly take in the huge number of people who are wanting to make their way to Europe.' Mr Gates praised Chancellor Merkel's commitment to spending 0.7 per cent of GDP on foreign aid as 'phenomenal', and asked other European leaders to follow suit. But he added: 'Europe must make it more difficult for Africans to reach the continent via the current transit routes.' His own foundation has spent years and invested hundreds of millions of dollars to fight poverty and disease in Africa. Mail Online contacted the foundation for comment, but had not received a response at the time of publication. Mrs Merkel has been heavily criticised for her previous policy of open-door migration which saw a million people arrive in Germany in a single year. Advertisement

The wrangle comes as it emerged that 69 migrants died off the Costa del Sol trying to make the perilous crossing to southern Spain - a route increasingly being used by people desperate to enter Europe.

Vincent Cochetel, the UNHCR's special envoy for the central Mediterranean, told reporters in Geneva: 'This is not sustainable. We need to have other countries joining Italy and sharing that responsibility.'

The issue has reared its head ahead of elections in Austria set for October with the anti-immigration far-right party tipped to do well.

A German government report which leaked to the Bild newspaper suggests there could be up to 6.6million people trying to get into Europe, including 2.5million waiting to cross from North Africa.

It is thought that 2,000 people have lost their lives making the crossing since the start of the year.

The EU executive offered Italy more funding on Tuesday to help deal with Mediterranean migrants and said private rescue boats working off Libya should review their operations to avoid encouraging people to take to sea.

The European Commission announced €35million ($40 million) in extra cash for Rome in response to Italian demands that its neighbours share more of the burden of handling thousands of people coming by boat every week.

It also set out a list of other measures for EU ministers to discuss on Thursday.

Italy has begged other European countries to accept migrant ships and threatened to close its ports as the nation struggles to deal with record numbers. A boat carrying migrants is pictured last week off the coastal town of Zawiyah, Libya

Among the proposals was that Italy draft a code of conduct for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) running rescue services off Libya.

Frans Timmermans, the Commission's deputy head, told reporters after the commissioners' weekly meeting, that this was in part because their activities might be a 'pull factor' - encouraging people to risk their lives in flimsy dinghies in the hope of being picked up and then ferried over to Italy.

The Commission plan calls for beefing up Libya's coastal rescue services, which is something Europeans hope may curb the number of people picked up close to shore by international charities.

Despite criticism of abuses by coastguards employed by Libya's shaky, UN-backed government, European officials argue that better local rescue services would mean more migrants being taken back to Libya or perhaps to neighbouring Tunisia or Egypt.

Migrants stand on the deck of the Swedish Navy ship Bkv 002, as they wait to disembark in the Sicilian harbor of Catania, Italy on Saturday

Human rights groups have been critical of EU governments, noting a jump in the death rate and more than 2,000 drownings so far this year off Libya - many want Europe to give safe passage to refugees, though some governments fear this would boost their anti-immigration opponents.

Human Rights Watch said a similar set of proposals agreed on Sunday by the Italian, French and German governments along with the Commission 'fall far short' and were 'awful for people fleeing Libya' and its 'abusive condition and conflicts'.

It said France and Spain could help by having rescue ships dock there, rather than in Italy, where more than 85,000 people have arrived so far this year. Paris and Madrid have responded cautiously to Italy's warning that it might close its own ports.

Timmermans and Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker called on other member states to make good on two-year-old pledges to take in more refugees from Italy and Greece.

An EU deal with Turkey last year has staunched flows that saw a million people reach Greece in 2015 but numbers reaching Italy from anarchic Libya are higher than last year.

'The focus of our efforts has to be on solidarity with those fleeing war and persecution and with our Member States under the most pressure,' Juncker said in a statement.

'At the same time, we need to act, in support of Libya, to fight smugglers and enhance border control to reduce the number of people taking hazardous journeys to Europe.'

The Commission reaffirmed its readiness to mobilise EU agencies and personnel to help the Italians.

It said a €46million project with Italy would bolster Libya's ability to make good on promises to help curb migrant traffic.

The EU also pledged to step up or otherwise enhance a range of other measures, including deportations of failed asylum-seekers, combat smuggling networks and fund African countries from which people are fleeing poverty hoping for work in Europe.

Italy, the Commission said, should speed up its processing of asylum claims and deportations of those rejected.