The leaders of Italy and France today called for tighter EU border controls to control an influx of immigration from North Africa and launched a joint appeal to Syria today to end violence against demonstrations.
"Together we send a strong call to Damascus authorities to stop the violent repression of what are peaceful demonstrations and we ask all sides to act with moderation," Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi said at a joint press conference with French president Nicolas Sarkozy in Rome.
The two leaders said the Schengen treaty, which removes many European Union border controls, should be modified temporarily to allow countries to deal with exceptional circumstances.
Mr Sarkozy, facing pressure on immigration from the far-right ahead of next year's presidential election, wants to agree a deal on tighter EU border controls with Mr Berlusconi before taking joint proposals to EU partners.
France and Italy have accused the other of flouting the spirit of the Schengen treaty, which eliminates many border controls within the EU, as they grapple with a wave of migrants arriving in the wake of unrest across North Africa.
So far this year, around 25,000 migrants, most from France's former colony Tunisia, have arrived in southern Italy on small, overloaded fishing boats, creating a humanitarian emergency on the tiny island of Lampedusa where most of the boats landed.
Italy says it has been left to deal with the problem on its own while France has accused Rome of trying to escape its responsibilities by allowing illegal immigrants free transit across the border.
Reuters