Last year, more than 77,000 asylum applications were submitted in Italy, far fewer than in Germany, France and Spain.

Around 12,000 asylum claims in the UK are to be decided based on a questionnaire instead of a face-to-face interview. The plan is aimed at clearing a huge backlog of applications.

After a decade during which more than 100,000 unaccompanied minors have arrived in Italy, the reception system for vulnerable young migrants is still inadequate, says Save the Children.

The Tunisian president has repeated his claim that an increase of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa is part of a criminal plot to change the country's demographics. At the same time he rejected accusations of racism.