Italy’s hard-line Interior minister Matteo Salvini has sent a letter to provincial representatives requesting “a report on the presence of Roma, Sinti and Camminanti settlements” in their territories within two weeks.

The ministry said on Tuesday that the aim is to have a clear outline of how many illegal camps there are on the Italian territory and where they are located in order to "draw up an eviction plan."

The head of the far-right League has made of a tough stance against illegal immigration his top political priority since he became a leader of the government coalition formed with the populist Five Star Movement a year ago.

Roma, Sinti and Caminanti are traditionally nomadic ethnic groups that have been living in European countries for decades.

According to the Council of Europe, there are between 120,000 and 180,000 Roma, Sinti and Caminanti in Italy, one of the lowest concentrations in Europe. Many of them have regular residents permits or acquired the Italian citizenship.

A 2017 report from the anti-discrimination group Association of 21 July noted, however, that Italy has been dubbed “the country of camps,” because in the last two decades it has been the most active in planning and creating outdoor camps where the Roma communities have been “segregated on ethnic grounds.”