Both countries exchanged acerbic remarks earlier in the week after Italy refused to allow a migrant boat to dock. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said the dispute was over after meeting the French president in Paris.
Image: Reuters/P. Wojazer
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Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said on Friday that the row between Italy and France over Rome's refusal to allow a boat carrying more than 600 migrants to dock had been settled.
Speaking alongside French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris, Conte said it was "time to turn the page" on the dispute and focus on a "radical paradigm change" in the way the European Union deals with mass migration into the bloc.
Conte said Italy would present a proposal to overhaul the EU's asylum and immigration rules to the bloc in July. Setting up centers for processing EU asylum claims in African countries would be part of the proposal, he said.
Spain to take in Aquarius
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Macron said that he supported the measure and other "profound reforms" of the EU's asylum rules, and added that the EU had not shown enough solidarity with Italy, which is the first country many migrants from North Africa arrive at when they enter the bloc.
France's foreign ministry said migrants who "meet the criteria for asylum" could be allowed to stay in France after they arrive.
The ship is expected to arrive on Sunday, according to Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. On Twitter, he called for "a new Europe where national egotism does not prevail."
After months of negotiations, Italy finally has a government with Giuseppe Conte at the helm. Conte's swearing in ended weeks of turmoil that rocked financial markets, but concerns among Italy's EU partners remain.
Image: picture-alliance/ROPI
Conte: Novice at the helm
Giuseppe Conte, a little-known law professor with no political experience, was picked by the League and 5-Star Movement (M5S) as their candidate for prime minister. He was forced to temporarily give up his leadership bid after the parties' cabinet selection was initially blocked. However, after the two parties struck a deal with President Sergio Mattarella, Conte was eventually sworn in on June 1.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Lore
Mattarella: President with the final say
President Sergio Mattarella faced calls for his impeachment after he prevented the populist alliance from taking office. He singled out its choice for finance minister, Paolo Savona, warning that an openly euroskeptic minister in that position went against the parties' joint promise to simply "change Europe for the better." After the parties agreed to replace Savona, Mattarella gave the go-ahead.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/A. Solaro
Di Maio: Anti-austerity advocate
M5S chief Luigi Di Maio secured his party 32 percent of the vote in the March election. With the populist M5S-League coalition in power, Di Maio assumed the role of joint deputy prime minister and took over the economic development portfolio. The M5S leader has come under fire for his anti-immigration rhetoric, including calling rescue missions to save migrants from drowning a "sea-taxi service."
Image: Getty Images/AFP/T. Fabi
Salvini: 'The Captain'
Matteo Salvini is the leader of the anti-immigrant, euroskeptic League, which won 17 percent of the vote in the March election. A former MEP, he and his party have no experience in governing. Salvini has taken on the position of interior minister within Conte's Cabinet. Known for his hostile rhetoric toward immigrants and the EU, Salvini once described the euro a "crime against humanity."
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/A. Di Meo
Savona: Anti-euro radical
Paola Savona, initially tipped to lead the Finance Ministry, has called the euro a "German cage" and said that Italy needs a plan to leave the single currency. The 81-year-old's stance won him the backing of most Italian lawmakers but that wasn't enough to stop his appointment being vetoed. In his place steps Giovanni Tria, an economics professor without any previous government experience.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/F. Frustaci
Cottarelli: Temporary caretaker
Carlo Cottarelli was set to become Italy's caretaker prime minster after the M5S-League alliance failed to have its controversial cabinet picks approved. The former IMF economist's time in the spotlight was short-lived, however. Political uncertainty in Italy rocked Europe's financial markets and prompted Mattarella to swiftly renegotiate and approve Salvini and Di Maio's governing coalition.
Image: picture-alliance/NurPhoto/S. Lore
Berlusconi: Vanquished enabler
Silvio Berlusconi (right) and his Forza Italia entered a four-party electoral alliance including League in the March election that secured the bloc 37 percent. Berlusconi is now upset at his right-wing ally Salvini after the League leader moved to work with M5S. Berlusconi has said he would act as a "reasonable and scrutinizing opposition."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/ANSA/E. Ferrari
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Key EU summit
Macron and Conte are set to meet again at a summit of EU leaders in Brussels on June 28-29.
Macron said on Friday that he was wary of Kurz's use of the word "axis," a term fascist Italy and Nazi Germany used to describe their alliance during World War II.
"I don't trust catchphrases that did not bring us luck in the course of history," he said.
