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Theo Francken, the country’s controversial migration minister, insisted Brussels is not doing enough in its fight to any the illegal immigration crisis surrounding the bloc.

European summers, since 2015, have been dominated by a sharp rise in people travelling from the Middle East and North Africa to Europe in order to claim asylum to escape war-torn countries and persecution.

Jean-Claude Juncker’s European Commission has vowed to show “solidarity” with refugees arriving in Europe and urged countries to accept them with open arms.

The Commission President’s attitude, however, is not shared across many member states, including Italy which is seen as one of the frontlines in the migration crisis.