M&G Europe have reported that the European Union plans to assist Italy, Malta and other member states grapple with a surge of illegal immigrant arrivals.

EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said ‘We know how serious and extremely difficult the situation is, especially for some countries such as Italy or Malta,’ he said, adding that EU plans to give its ’strong response.’

Barroso said he and the EU’ Justice Commissioner, Jacques Barrot, are working on a ’series of new proposals’ to be presented by 10th June.

The main three objectives were preventing the ’sea tragedies’ involving migrants drowning as they attempted to reach Europe, safeguarding the ‘principle of free movement’ of persons, and defending the ‘right to asylum,’ Barroso said.

In a move that has drawn criticism from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Italy recently began deportations to Libya of migrants picked up at sea in international waters.

According to the UNHCR, the practice contravenes the international refugee convention of 1951 - of which Italy is a signatory - since no attempt was made to determine whether the migrants involved were fleeing from persecution.

However, Berlusconi’s conservative government has vowed to press on with the deportations, saying that they are part of an agreement with Libya to curb illegal immigration across the Mediterranean.

The Italian government is also pushing through parliament a security package that would make illegal immigration a punishable offence, measures that have sparked concern among human rights advocates and the Catholic Church.

In the interview with Corriere della Sera, Barroso declined to comment on Rome’s new policies, but said that there was a need to balance two ‘extreme positions.’

He described those positions as: ‘The one that places all emphasis on security, and wants to close Europe’s door (to immigrants) and the ‘ultra-liberal’ approach that says ‘everyone can enter’ and flings the doors wide open.’

‘Europe needs immigration, but it needs to manage it better,’ Barroso told Corriere della Sera.