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Interior chiefs from Estonia, Belgium and the Netherlands all said Brussels needs to find ways of significantly upping the rate of deportations of economic migrants if it is to survive the latest spike in the continents migration crisis.

Eurocrats are now set to draw up a code of conduct, at the behest of Italy, which will govern how NGOs operating search and rescue missions in the Mediterranean should coordinate their operations with EU member states in the future.

A number of prominent Italian politicians have accused charities of acting as a taxi service for migrants and even communicating with people smuggling gangs to coordinate rescues - allegations aid workers furiously deny.

But arriving at a meeting of EU interior ministers in Estonia this morning several heavy hitters from across the continent hinted that patience with the current situation is now wearing thin, with 10,000 people arriving at Italian ports every day.

Rome has warned its reception facilities are close to collapsing under the strain and has threatened to start turning rescue vessels away from its shores, urging other member states to begin opening up their ports and sharing the burden instead.

Today there was little appetite amongst the remaining EU countries for doing so, but there were suggestions the bloc could start turning migrant boats back to Libya as a way of alleviating the growing pressure on Italy.

EU officials have said that the vast majority of those arriving in Italy from North Africa are not refugees, but "manifestly" economic migrants. French president Emmanuel Macron put the figure at "over 80 per cent" whilst the the UN has said it is around seven in 10.

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Dutch interior minister Stephanus Blok said: We need to work out both a better entrance system but also a better system to bring back people who are not entitled to asylum. It cannot remain as it is now.

Just opening more ports will not solve the problem by itself. We should also discuss the role that African ports should play in this field. We should take the African ports also into account."

His Belgian counterpart, Theo Francken, also suggested a new approach may be necessary stating that the current procedure of bringing everybody to Europe cannot go on in light of the huge numbers being rescued.

Asked if he agreed with a code of conduct for NGOs, he replied: "I'm absolutely pro. I think its very good that we have a code of conduct with the NGOs.

We have to save people but the solution is not in bringing everybody to Europe. That is not the solution, that will only increase the problem.

And grilled on Italys suggestion that other member states open up their ports to migrant boats, he added: I dont think were going to open Belgian ports, no.

We should take the African ports also into account

Dutch asylum minister Stephanus Blok

Estonian interior minister Andrea Anvelt, whose country currently holds the six-month rotating presidency of the EU, said European countries need to send a clear message that economic migrants will be deported swiftly.

He said: If we will not send the clear messages that we can return, once more time return policy is the preventive and key word in immigration crises.

So if we send the people back this will be the first and most important preventive measure that theres no reason to come here if you dont have the right.

The key programme is the return policy. How the people who dont have right to international protection can be quickly and efficiently sent back to third countries.

Those are the steps the EU has to take as quickly as possible. Legal migration is a possibility but illegal migration and also economic migration have to be stopped.

War torn Libya, which has two rival governments, is not considered a safe third country by the EU and there are question marks over whether turning boats back is legal under international law.

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Refugees and migrants wait in a small rubber boat to be rescued off Lampedusa, Italy

But EU leaders do want to strike a deal with the internationally recognised administration in Tripoli similar to the one they have with Turkey in an attempt to stem the huge numbers of arrivals.

And they could also try to reach agreements with other North African states, such as Tunisia and Egypt, which may be prepared to take on some of the migration burden in return for huge injections of aid cash.

Under the terms of Brussels pact with Ankara all economic migrants are returned across the Aegean, with one genuine refugee from a Turkish camp being housed for every person sent back.

NGOs and some politicians also fear that the EUs proposed code of conduct, which will be directed by Italy, will effectively be designed to act as a break on their search and rescue operations.

EU migration commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos insisted Brussels was not turning against charities, saying it had no problems with their activities in the Mediterranean.

He added: The idea behind this proposal is how to make our relations more functional through a more coordinated way. NGOs are contributing in a complimentary way but in a very substantial way to better do our job on the ground.

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'This can't go on' EU ministers hint they may start turning migrant boats back to Africa - Express.co.uk