LAMPEDUSA - Rising from the Mediterranean between Malta and Tunisia, this pineapple shaped island of wind swept limestone dotted with palms belongs naturally to Africa, writes John Hooper.
But politically, it is in Europe, a distant outcrop of the Italian state, and it is that which has tempted a growing number of north Africans to knock at this far flung back door to the European Union.
Warrant officer Mr Francesco Melis, commander of the island's revenue guard, reckons that this year some 3,500 people have landed from Tunisian fishing boats. Last week saw the cheekiest attempt yet, when a boat loaded with would be EU residents tied up in the island's main harbour and began disembarking its human cargo. "Just as if it were a regular ferry service," Mr Melis recalled with a smile.
Comic though it was, the incident illustrates a point that could prompt angry debate at the Dublin summit, since Italy's immigration laws are so lax that most uninvited arrivals on Lampedusa want to get caught.
Since the expiry last month of a decree which stiffened the provisions of a 1990 law, it is no longer an offence to try to enter.
The immigrants themselves are merely served with what Mr Melis tamed "a sort of invitation to leave Italy within 15 days".