"Italy is playing a key role in helping secure a European Union agreement on migration and asylum -- something Europeans heading to the polls next year need to see," Schinas told ANSA.

Speaking with the Italian news agency in the representative office of the European Commission in Rome, Schinas praised Italy's efforts on migration, asking Rome to "complete the work" while stressing that "for the first time, the southern Mediterranean is not following the rest of Europe, but has become a protagonist."

He spoke in particular about a "renaissance, a unique political opportunity for the whole European Union."

Schinas stressed the external dimension of the migration dossier in relation to the protocol with Tunisia, a theme that is dear to Italy, adding that "very intense" work -- which he said will lead to concrete results -- is underway.

Turkey's political positioning is also central to the Mediterranean and the migration dossier, Schinas said, especially after the NATO summit in Vilnius (July 11-12), where President Recep Tayyip Erdogan raised the stakes.

"Where Turkey will want to stay in the future depends on the answers which Turkey will give us," said the vice president of the EU's executive body, explaining that Ankara must decide whether "to stay with us, within NATO, the EU or to stay with Moscow, Tehran or Hezbollah".