A meeting of G8 interior and justice ministers will take place in May on Lampedusa, the tiny island off Sicily where thousands of illegal immigrants from Africa arrive each year, Italian Interior Minister Roberto Maroni said on Friday.
An average of 15,000 would-be immigrants land each year on Lampedusa, where the vast majority of boats crossing from Africa are intercepted.
The island is closer to the coast of Tunisia than to the Italian mainland.
''This will give others an idea of the problems we face with the emergency of illegal immigration,'' he said.
''Europe is too weak and (member) states are left to deal with the problem on their own,'' said Maroni.
The minister announced he would hold talks with colleagues from Malta, Cyprus and Greece next Tuesday to discuss the problem.
At least 2,000 people die every year as they attempt to cross the Mediterranean, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in a recent report.
This year Italy holds the one-year rotating presidency of the G8, whose members are Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.
