The message rings clear: urgent action is needed to support Italy's struggle with migration flows, but should this be to open or close borders? Our panel debates.

Migrant tragedies reach emergency proportion

Hello. How much longer must we see  rows of dead bodies in hangars?

Or the listless eyes of children who  went through hell to reach our shores?

How much longer will people with the  right to come to Europe as war refugees

arrive here illegally  and risk their lives?

Should we blame the Italian authorities  who can't manage this migration

or the distant, self-centred,  distracted European Union?

a joint EuroparlTV and ANSA TV  production from Strasbourg,

where the new European Parliament  is meeting.

a new but re-elected Swedish MEP  from the group of the Liberals.

And Giovanni Toti, newly elected,  so this is a new experience for him.

From Forza Italia and  in the European People's Party group.

And Matteo Salvini, leader of  the Northern League, in his second term.

Let's get straight  to the heart of the matter.

we've seen more tragedies  and more arrivals.

Numbers have increased  because this is the most popular season.

I think we're in  a state of absolute emergency

which neither our Italian government  nor the European authorities

The blame lies with those who chose  to destabilise the whole of North Africa,

with whom we had bilateral agreements  to prevent and limit this traffic.

But now the blame for not recognising  and managing the emergency

lies with Mare Nostrum,  EU policies and Frontex.

Matteo Salvini, you need to go soon  so I'll come to you.

You've spoken very firmly recently,  as usual.

You've tweeted and retweeted  that Mare Nostrum should be abolished.

I've been to the place these people arrive.

I've met workers at the ports,  the police, volunteers, mothers.

We need brains too.  Mare Nostrum is an insane operation.

I'd like to explain that Mare Nostrum  is a military rescue operation.

It provides help at sea  using Italian navy ships

and costs  between 10 and 14 million euros a month.

It's an Italian operation. I don't see  the Spanish rescuing immigrants at sea.

Or the Greeks,  the French or the Portuguese.

Only Italy had the bright idea  of helping people-smugglers do their job.

So 75,000 people arrived  in the first few months...

Spending the money we're wasting here  on investments in Africa.

We should build reception centres there  so we can identify the true refugees

and stop them  from setting sail and dying at sea.

Cecilia Wikström,  Matteo Salvini is quite...

He's saying "Let's help immigrants,  or asylum seekers, to come here legally."

What are your views  on the situation in Italy?

where Europe  should be doing more right now?

Every loss of human lives  is an emergency.

Let me first of all deplore  this loss of lives

for the Italian authorities  and for the Italian citizens

that have saved thousands of lives  in recent days alone.

With that said, we must address this  on a European level.

We should be able  to patrol the Mediterranean

and make sure that people are not  entering into these fragile vessels

and risking losing their lives  on their way towards Europe,

We must remember  that the people that are fleeing

are fleeing from the mass slaughter  that is going on in Syria, for instance.

with ISIS operating now in Iraq,  with mass slaughter even there.

But we must stand up  and protect these victims

of these horrible actions that  are taking place in our neighbourhood.

Before we set up a functioning  filter system in non-EU countries,

which could take several years  to establish,

what is the Italian government  asking the EU for right now?

We're not in the government  so I don't know.

Tomorrow we'll hear what Matteo Renzi  intends to ask the EU for.

I know that Italy has obtained  very little so far.

The EU put the Frontex headquarters  in Warsaw,

You don't get many refugees  coming ashore in Poland,

I think we need to ask the EU  to intervene immediately

and with a coordinated operation  to protect its southern borders,

to rescue people  and bring them ashore in Italy,

they should be used to stop these people  setting sail from Libya.

If the Libyan government  won't enter into bilateral agreements,

we should take charge  of monitoring their coastline,

just like we did in Albania  with a collection of volunteers

Libya not having a government  is a problem.