ROME - Paris on Monday hosted a migrant summit between the leaders of Italy, France, Germany and Spain as well as Fayez al-Serraj, head of Libya's internationally recognised government, and the leaders of Niger and Chad.



One of the main talking points was setting up hotspots in sub-Saharan Africa to sift economic migrants from genuine refugees and stop the former.



This was the subject of talks between African leaders and French President Emmanuel Macron before the summit. Macron held a bilateral meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel before the summit got under way.



Also ahead of the summit, there was a meeting at the Italian interior ministry in Rome with the leaders of Libya, Niger, Mali and Chad.



Rome discussed new migrant moves at the meeting, its second migration interior ministers' 'control room' get-together with Chad, Libya, Mali and Niger Monday. Topics included strengthening controls on sea and land borders, fighting terror and traffickers, setting up a high-level security task force and getting the UN refugee agency UNHCR and the International Organisation for Migration more involved in setting up centres in Niger and Chad and improving conditions in Libyan ones. Italy is stepping up efforts to stem the migrant flow across the central Mediterranean having drastically cut it via a code of conduct for NGO rescue ships and an agreement with Libya to stop traffickers.



Berlin, Paris, Madrid and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini have hailed Rome's new NGO code of conduct as well as its planned cooperation with Libya on migrant routes. Chancellor Merkel said Sunday Italy and Greece cannot bear all the burden of receiving migrants on their own.



Meanwhile the Italian interior ministry is weighing the use of property confiscated from the mafia to host evicted people in the wake of last week's controversial eviction of hundreds of Eritrean refugees and asylum seekers in Rome.



Interior Minister Marco Minniti will meet later this week with Rome Mayor Virginia Raggi.



Italian officials on Monday held their first talks on evicting people from squats since last week's controversial eviction of the hundreds of Eritrean refugees from a building and square near Rome's Termini Station.



Clashes left several police and asylum seekers injured and led to a row over alleged police heavy-handedness and the lack of provision of alternative accommodation.



On Monday interior ministry officials met with those from police forces as well as prefects and municipal officials on a plan to use property confiscated from the mafia to house evicted squatters, be they foreign or Italian.



The involvement of the association of Italian municipalities, ANCI, and regional governments was agreed.



Tomorrow there will be a "technical" meeting between the interior ministry and ANCI, officials said.