European Union leaders meet to check migration

Rescuers approach a migrants’ boat adrift in the sea. File pic/AP

The leaders of nine southern European Union countries met in Malta on Friday to discuss common challenges such as migration, the EU's management of which has vexed national governments in Europe for years.

The nations represented at the one-day huddle included host Malta, France, Greece, Italy, Croatia, Cyprus, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain. With the exceptions of Slovenia and Croatia, which were added to the so-called "Med Group" in 2021, the countries all rim the Mediterranean Sea. The huddle's main aim is to help develop consensus among the members on major issues concerning all EU countries.

Two top EU officials - European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Miche - were invited to the closed-door meeting. The leaders of the EU's 27 nations have an informal European Council meeting scheduled for next week in Spain.

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Italy, which receives the largest number of migrants arriving via the Mediterranean Sea, has pushed in vain for fellow EU nations to show solidarity by accepting people reaching its shores.

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