Italy’s Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, facing a key referendum at home later this year, accused Germany, France and Spain of breaking European Union rules on deficit control and spending.

Try as he might, Matteo Renzi just can’t push Italy’s economy into the eurozone’s premier league. 

Rescue crews searched yesterday for survivors and bodies from what could be the Mediterranean’s deadliest migrant tragedy ever, as hundreds more migrants took to the sea undeterred and EU leaders said they would hold an emergency summit on Thursday to address the crisis.

Italy slid into recession for the third time since 2008 in the second quarter, underlining the chronic weakness of the eurozone’s third largest economy and pressuring prime minister Matteo Renzi to complete promised reforms.