The heads of state and government from most of the EU member countries and more than 30 African nations are due in the Maltese capital Valletta on Wednesday for talks on tackling Europe’s migration cr
The heads of state and government from most of the EU member countries and more than 30 African nations are due in the Maltese capital Valletta on Wednesday for talks on tackling Europe’s migration crisis.
The two-day summit ending Thursday will be followed immediately by an informal gathering of EU leaders who will take stock of their quest for a unified response to the continent’s biggest movement of people since World War II.
Out of the 28 European Union member states, 24 will be represented in Malta at the heads of state or government level, while ministers will stand in for the others, according to a list of participants provided by a diplomat.
There will also be a “strong showing” from the African leaders of the 35 countries invited, the diplomat said.The countries are Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of Congo, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Gambia and Togo.
Observer countries due to be represented are Algeria, Norway, Iceland, and Switzerland. The African Union and the Economic Community Of West African States Commission (ECOWAS) will be present.
Meanwhile, authorities have rescued several hundred migrants from the Aegean Sea off eastern Greek islands in relatively calm waters, also reporting the death of a toddler.
The boy, aged two-three years, was found off the coast of Lesbos fully clothed, including boots, and wearing an orange life jacket, the Greek Coast Guard said in a statement on Saturday.
A Coast Guard spokeswoman, speaking on customary condition of anonymity, said, that there were no reports of a missing child from Sunday’s migrant arrivals or rescues.
Separately, support for the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party rose to nine percent in a poll released Sunday, a day after thousands of its supporters joined an anti-refugee rally in Berlin. The AfD party is the chief critic of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s open-door policy towards refugees.
