EU Mediterranean Leaders Meet in Malta 09/29 06:11

   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.

   VALLETTA, Malta (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. Slovenia and 
Croatia, with Adriatic Sea coasts, were added to the so-called "Med Group" in 
2021. While Portugal has a long Atlantic Ocean border, the European Union 
considers it partially in the Mediterranean region.

   Two top EU officials -- European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen 
and European Council President Charles Michel -- 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.

   The huddle's main aim is to help develop consensus among the members on 
major issues concerning all EU countries.

   However, unity on migration has been elusive, as witnessed in Brussels 
during a Thursday meeting of interior ministers, who are tasked with enforcing 
individual nations' rules within the broader contours of EU regulations.

   Italy, for example, which now receives by far the largest number of migrants 
arriving via the Mediterranean Sea, has pushed in vain for fellow EU nations to 
show solidarity by accepting more of the tens of thousands of people who reach 
its shores.

   Many of the migrants are rescued by military boats, humanitarian vessels or 
merchant ships plying the waters crossed by migrant smugglers' unseaworthy 
boats launched from Tunisia, Libya, Turkey and elsewhere. Earlier this month, 
some 8,000 migrants stepped ashore on Lampedusa, a tiny Italian fishing island, 
in barely 48 hours, overwhelming the tourist destination.

   The relentless arrivals, which slow only when seas are rough, have put 
political pressure on one of the Malta summit's attendees -- Italian Premier 
Giorgia Meloni. She came to power a year ago after campaigning on a pledge to 
stop illegal migration, including with a naval blockade, if necessary.

   Under current EU rules, the nation where asylum-seekers arrive must shelter 
them while their applications are processed. In Italy's case, the majority of 
migrants arriving by sea from Africa and Asian countries are fleeing poverty, 
not war or persecution, and aren't eligible for asylum.

   But because Italy has so few repatriation agreements with home countries, it 
is stymied in sending unsuccessful applicants back. Many migrants slip out of 
Italy and into northern Europe, their ultimate destination, in hopes of finding 
family or work.

   Little progress has been made on a new EU pact as the member states bicker 
over which country should take charge of migrants when they arrive and whether 
other countries should be obligated to help.

   Three years after unveiling a plan for sweeping reform of the European 
Union's outdated asylum rules, such squabbling fuels doubt as to whether an 
overhaul will ever become reality.

   While heads of government or state represented most countries at Friday's 
summit, Spain sent its acting foreign minister because Acting Prime Minister 
Pedro Snchez was involved in discussions at home on forming a new government.

   While the talks in Malta were heavily concentrated on migration, other 
common challenges, including climate change, economic growth and continued EU 
support for Ukraine as it defends itself from Russia's February 2022 invasion 
were also on the agenda.