Rome - EU interior ministers are to discuss how to respond to the migrant crisis in the Mediterranean, with Italy threatening a strong response if no deal is reached. A key issue at the talks in Luxembourg is a plan to distribute asylum seekers more evenly across all 28 EU states. Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said without agreement Italy would adopt a "Plan B" that would "hurt" Europe. The crisis has put a huge strain on Italian, Greek and Maltese resources. While some EU states including Germany and Austria back a deal to share a total of 60,000 asylum seekers across 25 nations, others argue that migrants should not be forced to move to countries where they do not want to settle. The UK, Denmark and Ireland have exemptions from the quota plan. More than 1,800 migrants have died in the Mediterranean so far this year - a 20-fold increase on the same period in 2014. The majority had set sail aboard rickety, overcrowded boats from strife-torn Libya. In recent weeks naval vessels, including the UK's HMS Bulwark, have rescued thousands of people at risk of drowning, but plans to resettle migrants across Europe and break up the smuggling networks have yet to be agreed. Italy and Greece - which have already seen more than 100,000 boat people arrive on their shores this year - insist other EU nations must share some of the burden. Italy has seen an influx of almost 60,000 migrants, mainly from Libya. Mr Renzi is reported to have warned that, without a fair deal, Italy would start issuing temporary visas to enable migrants to travel beyond Italy under Schengen rules. "If the European Council chooses solidarity, then good. If it doesn't we have a Plan B ready but that would be a wound inflicted on Europe," he told Italy's Corriere della Sera. Although details of that Plan B have not been given, reports suggest that Italy would refuse to allow migrants rescued by foreign navies to disembark on its shores. (FA)