Migrant crisis: EU summit in Malta seeks resolution with Libya

Libya has called on the European Union to support with more funds to help contain the influx of African migrants.

European Union leaders are meeting in malta to discuss the issue of migrants from North Africa.

Boosting the Libya coastguard and tackling human smugglers are the main proposal of the meeting.

Hundreds of thousands of migrants try to reach Europe each year many of them get drown while crossing the Mediterranean.

On Thursday, Italy’s coastguard said more than 1,750 migrants had been rescued in the Mediterranean within 24 hours.

Most of those arriving Libya come from a range of African countries, some fleeing persecution, many seeking a better life.

Many migrants have fled from Nigeria because of the instability in the north caused by the Islamist insurgent group, Boko Haram.

Also in Eritrea, many have fled to escape the military service in the country which last for decades and has been compared in a UN report as slavery.

More than 180,000 migrants arrived in Italy last year, and more than 4,500 drowned trying to get to their destination.

The recent ripples of insecurity across the southern Mediterranean have presented profound challenges for the European Union, While Libya and Syria continue to experience protracted violence and lawlessness.

“The challenges posed by immigration and terrorism render the Southern Mediterranean of supreme importance to the EU,” Martin Scicluna, Malta’s former ambassador to NATO said.

#MaltaSummit #EU2017MT Migration: Elephant in the room is the lack of reliable partners on the ground in Libya with which the EU can deal.

— Kurt Sansone (@kurtsansone) February 3, 2017

While the growing migration crisis and threat of terrorism arising from the southern Mediterranean may be of geographical importance only to member states from the region, the broader effects across Europe have been seen.