Italy seeks Nato help in tackling migrant crisis

Italy has appealed to Nato for greater help in tackling illegal immigration from North Africa, especially Libya, with its new government saying the country was "under attack" from the south. EU rules mean migrants must apply for asylum in the European country where they first arrive, putting pressure on Italy and Greece, the entry points for hundreds of thousands of people fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia since 2015.
"We cannot not have closer cooperation between Nato and the European Union in the Mediterranean and elsewhere," Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said after meeting Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg. Italy's new government formed by the anti-establishment M5S and anti-immigration League parties considers the Mediterranean the EU's "southern flank" and has sounded the alarm on immigration saying terrorists could sneak into Europe and wreak havoc.