ROME, June 21 (Xinhua) -- The European Union must say once and for all if Italy is on its own in dealing with the migration crisis, Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni told the Senate on Wednesday.
In televised remarks to the Upper House, Gentiloni outlined Italy's position ahead of a meeting of the European Council in Brussels scheduled for June 22-23.
"We must admit honestly that while some steps forward have been made, the speed remains dramatically below what is needed to deal with the (migration) phenomenon," Gentiloni said. "Results so far have been largely symbolic," he added.
A Europe with double standards -- tough on budgets, but flexible on migration -- is "totally unacceptable," Gentiloni said.
The Italian chief hailed the European Commission's June 14 decision to open infringement procedures against the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland. The three eastern European countries have flatly refused to take in refugees and asylum seekers from the two countries of first arrival -- Italy and Greece -- under a relocation program decided on by the European Council in 2015.
"But we cannot rest on this -- we need to move much faster towards a common policy," Gentiloni said. "What we want to know from the EU is whether the Union has our back... or whether Italy must continue dealing with (the migration crisis) on its own."
"If Europe wants to bet on its own future, it must have a common migration policy -- this is what we're asking for from the European Council," Gentiloni said.
The European Council meeting will also focus on security in light of "the horrible attacks" that struck Manchester, London, and the Belgian capital last night, where police killed a would-be suicide bomber at the city's Central Station, the Italian premier told lawmakers.
The battle against radicalization and terrorism "must be fought on two levels": increased exchange of information between member states on travelers entering and leaving the EU, and cracking down on fundamentalist propaganda on the internet, according to Gentiloni.
"We must multiply the pressure and try to get results from the big web players," Gentiloni said. "We must be extremely demanding with (them)."
"Radicalization can be fought by those who hold the keys to the internet," he said in reference to corporate internet service providers.
In an invitation letter released on Wednesday, European Council President Donald Tusk wrote that "last year we agreed that the EU will protect our people against security threats, illegal migration and uncontrolled globalisation, and we must continue to deliver."
Among the items on the agenda for the meeting, the European Council said it will assess measures to stem migration on the Central Mediterranean route from Libya to Italy and Greece, and ways to tackle the root causes of migration.
