Highlighting the vast divide over the matter of immigration and the migration crisis, Renzi said Austria's plan to close up its border along the Brenner Pass, which links Italy and Austria, was unhelpful.
"This is the wrong attitude even if there is a migrant crisis," Renzi said.
The talks, which featured Renzi, Merkel, European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker, come amid concerns Italy may become the epicenter of the migration crisis, as the EU-Turkey deal pushes refugees and migrants to try and enter Europe from North Africa, via the Mediterranean.
German Chancellor Merkel offered a more subtle criticism of Austria's stance, saying that ramped up internal border controls within the EU were putting the bloc's Schengen passport-free travel zone at risk.
Merkel instead expressed the need for the EU to protect its external borders "from the Mediterranean to the North Pole," arguing that a failure to do so would risk a "return to nationalism," with the migration crisis leading to increased support for far-right anti-immigration groups.
Europe Divided Over Migration
While Merkel and Renzi are pushing for united, EU-wide approach to the migration crisis, many other member states disagree, with Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia all expressing criticism of plans that include refugee relocation quotas.
There are also signs that there is growing support for a tougher line on immigration in Austria, with Norbert Hofer from the far-right Freedom Party expected to win a presidential run-off later this month on an anti-immigration platform.
In order to prevent the Mediterranean refugee route from becoming widely used over the summer, Renzi is pushing for NATO naval patrols to be deployed off the coast of Libya, along with a refugee agreement — similar to the recent EU-Turkey deal — to be negotiated with Libyan officials.
Renzi said the "strategy for Africa" would need to include increased EU aid for countries that have seen large numbers of people leave, in order to prevent such large migrant outflows in the future.
