Interior minister Roberto Maroni is putting the final touches to a package of tough new measures concerning immigration and crime, which are to be presented to the new right-wing government of Silvio Berlusconi at a special cabinet meeting in Naples on 21 May. The provisions are in response to the security threat allegedly posed by certain immigrants in Italy and especially members of the ethnic Roma population, which was a strong feature of the recent election campaign.

The measures will reportedly include dismantling illegal Roma encampments on the fringes of Italy