Landings of illegal immigrants on Italy's southern coasts have ''practically ceased'' following a controversial new policy to return migrants back to Libya, Interior Minister Roberto Maroni reiterated Wednesday.
Addressing parliament's lower house, Maroni said the formerly overcrowded migrant centre on the Sicilian island of Lampedusa was almost empty.
''The influx of illegal immigrants on the coasts of Sicily and in particular on Lampedusa has stopped'' since May 6, when the policy was launched to return migrants to Libya, the main stepping-off point for migrants on the North African coast.
He said he would meet Libyan authorities in the next few days to ''take forward'' the collaboration between the two countries.
Providing figures on the so-called 'push-back' policy last week, Maroni said 471 migrants had been sent back to Libya from May 6 to 10, after the launch of the policy.
The initiative has been contested by the centre-left opposition, the Catholic Church, humanitarian organisations and the United Nations.
The Italian branch of Amnesty International on Wednesday repeated criticism of Italy's immigration policy at a presentation of the organisation's 2009 report on human rights.
''Italian immigration policy and the driving back of refugees who arrive by boat in deep seas is an expression of its contempt for human rights and for really desperate people who are looking for help,'' said Amnesty International's Italy President, Christine Weise, on the sidelines of the presentation.
The European Commission has meanwhile begun discussing an action plan on the immigrant emergency in the Mediterranean ahead of a meeting of European Union interior ministers on June 4-5.
Italy, Spain, Malta, Cyprus and Greece - the southern European countries who bear the brunt of illegal immigrant landings - have asked for greater EU support to share the burden.
