The 27 member states of the European Union are increasingly divided on the topic of immigration and seemingly further than ever from an agreement, following the informal EU summit held in Salzburg on Friday. The lack of an accord is the most recent stalemate on migration, with Italy dissenting from the European Commission's proposal to reinforce EU border agency Frontex, an initiative that France and Germany strongly support. 

Political polemics 

France sent a tough message to pro-sovereignty European governments, with French President Emmanuel Macron telling countries who "don't want Frontex anymore or don't want more solidarity" to leave the Schengen Area. He said those who don't want Europe anymore "won't have structural funds." 

Macron said there are those who want structural funds but don't intend to take in any migrants, and those who "don't want to respect humanitarian law, international maritime law, and refuse arriving ships even though their port is the closest."

His comments followed an interview on French television by the Italian Interior Minister, Matteo Salvini, who spoke out against Macron, calling on him to "not give lessons to Italy."

Vast differences on main topics 

There are sifnigicant differences on the main migration topics that are important to Italy. At the summit, no mention was made of reorganizing Operation Sophia, the EU's military mission to curb human trafficking in the Mediterranean, which is a topic of particular concern to Italy. However, a topic that was addressed was that of the Visegrad proposal, which would make countries pay financial contributions in exchange for not taking in migrants. 

Italian Prime Minister, Giuseppe Conte, said the voluntary financial contributions model "is not an objective we are aiming for ... If we get to this in the end we'll evaluate it, but the financial contribution impoverishes the prospect upon which we are working." Some leaders at the summit, such as Luxembourg's Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, said it was "shameful" to talk about the price of a migrant. 

Holding court at the summit was the proposal by EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker to reinforce Frontex by deploying an additional 10,000 agents at the EU's borders. The idea was welcomed by Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, who is also serving as the current rotating president of the EU. 

However, the Frontex proposal was rejected by Italy. Conte questioned the "usefulness of that investment" and said he would prefer investments in Africa. He said the deployment would also pose a political problem regarding sovereignty, which he said all member states, including Italy, guard jealously.