Italy's Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni warned over the weekend that the growing migrant crisis threatens to tear out the EU's "soul," but some analysts warned it might already be happening.

Gentiloni earned headlines Sunday when, in a no-holds-barred interview, he said that a "selfish" European Union squabbled as the number of tragedies from desperate migrants attempting to reach Europe's shores continued to pile up.

"It is on this issue that Europe will either rediscover its soul or lose it for good," Gentiloni said.

Italy and Greece have born the brunt of nearly 350,000 migrants who have landed in Europe so far this year, according to Frontex, the European Union's border control agency. In July alone, more than 100,000 landed, almost 50 percent more than any other month on record.

The arrival of so many migrants has sparked violence against the new arrivals in parts of Italy and elsewhere in Europe.

Gentiloni said Europe's Schengen rules -- which allows for the visa-free movement of people between 26 countries, including four that are not in the European Union -- could be at risk as countries try to stem the tide of migrants.

"Europe is at risk of showing its worst side: selfishness, haphazard decision-making, and disagreements between member states," the minister said. "What is at risk is one of the most fundamental pillars of Europe: the free circulation of people."

But according to Marco Villaggio, an author and international affairs professor at the University of Sicily, damage to Europe's identity has already been done.

"The Europe of today is not the same one of 10 or even five years ago," Villaggio said in an interview. "Every major crisis, whether it be the debt problems in some countries, or the rise of extreme political parties in some others, or the question of what to do with so many new migrants, each has Europeans pointing fingers at each other."

Gian Franco Gallo, a political affairs analyst, said: "In the period since the start of the common currency, this is the lowest point for the European Union in terms of unity."

Villaggio echoed Gentiloni's call for a reform of Europe's asylum rules, including rules to make each European country take its fair share of migrants and an EU-wide set of asylum standards. The issue is expected to be high on the agenda at the EU summit in November in Malta.

Villaggio said European leaders must take bold action: "This is not an issue that will go away by itself," he said. "Strong action is required."

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