Italy and Austria plan to step up the fight against undocumented migrants and crime along their shared border, their interior ministers said after a meeting in Rome today.

"Both ministers agreed on the need to intensify cooperation on cross-border operations and joint investigations in the fight against crime and illegal trafficking, including the exchange of information and data," a statement said.

Italian Interior Minister Anna Maria Cancellieri and her Austrian counterpart Johanna Mikl-Leitner stressed their desire to "continue to work within the European Union to elaborate migration policies," it said.

Tens of thousands of undocumented migrants and refugees have arrived in Italy so far this year -- mainly Tunisians and African workers from Libya, but also Afghans, Egyptians, Pakistanis and Sri Lankans.

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