Italy on Wednesday extended an existing state of emergency granting authorities special powers to deal with migrants entering the country illegally.
The decree signed by Premier Romano Prodi, which comes into effect on Thursday, explains that the move is intended to help "tackle the exceptional influx of non-EU nationals arriving in Italy".
The decision to extend the state of emergency was reached during a cabinet meeting two weeks ago, just days after mild weather and calm seas prompted an upsurge in boat migrants arriving from the North African coast.
Despite a lull since then, the government has pushed ahead with its decision.
"This ongoing critical situation must be tackled using special powers, and through interventions and measures of an exceptional nature," the decree states.
It does not list specific powers permitted under the state of emergency, instead delegating these decisions to local administrations.
Although a cold snap has halted landings in the last couple of weeks, several hundred migrants have arrived in the country since the start of the year.
Italy, with its lengthy coastlines and proximity to Africa, has long been a popular destination for those trying to enter the European Union but there has been a dramatic increase in arrivals over recent years.
A record number of migrants entered Italy illegally last year, 97% of whom landed on Sicily or the tiny island of Lampedusa, according to government statistics.
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Giuliano Amato on Tuesday reiterated that plans were being drawn up to ensure that Italy's controversial migrant holding centres, known as CPTs, would in future only be used in "unavoidable cases".
"We plan to massively reduce the use of CPTs and turn them into temporary detention centres for unavoidable cases only," he said.
"We cannot continue with the current situation. It is wrong that we keep mothers arriving in Italy with their children in the same place as those with criminal records".
The government has promised to reduce Italy's current 14 CPTs down to just five or six, and to use them only to house migrants facing deportation.
They currently function also as reception centres for newly arrived migrants and identification points for asylum seekers.
The existing system of housing migrant arrivals was greatly expanded by the last government and since then has been the target of mounting criticism, demonstrations and constant media attention.
Critics say the centres are basically prisons, where migrants are kept in overcrowded conditions and without fundamental rights.
But the centre-right opposition has slammed the proposed CPT reforms, describing the move as a publicity stunt and accusing the government of failing to organize suitable alternatives.
Former interior minister Giuseppe Pisanu suggested immigration would become "ungovernable", while Maurizio Gasparri, a heavyweight in the rightist National Alliance party, said it was "impossible" just to shut down all the centres.
The centre left promised a broad overhaul of Italy's immigration legislation as part of its electoral platform and has begun looking at a series of related issues since coming to power a year ago.
Other legislative changes under discussion include the introduction of a single asylum law and a points-based entry system to encourage managed migration.
Proposals have also been developed to grant certain immigrants the vote and make it easier for them to gain Italian citizenship.
A comprehensive immigration bill, drawn up by Amato and Welfare Minister Paolo Ferrero, will be discussed by the cabinet in the next two weeks, according to government sources.
