European leaders will kick off discussions on Friday as part of a summit that will attempt to address crucial migration issues that have shaken the bloc to its core in recent weeks.
While a wide-ranging agreement that addresses all issues might not be reached in the coming days, leaders were to take a “meaningful first step” in their attempt to come to an agreement on migration policies, sources in Brussels said.
The two-day summit comes amid a stand-off between Malta and Italy over rescue ships carrying hundreds of migrants seeking asylum in Europe.
On Wednesday evening, NGO boat MV Lifeline was finally allowed to dock in Malta after being stranded at sea for six days with 234 migrants onboard. Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said the decision to allow the boat to dock came after eight EU member states agreed to jointly distribute the migrants. It was the first time, a large group of migrants landed in Malta as Italy's populist government clamped down on migrant arrivals.
Read: Rescue ship Lifeline docks, most migrants claim to have escaped torture in Libya
The bloc has so far been unable to reform its Common European Asylum System, which has led to the rise of right-wing populist parties that has also resulted in friction between traditional allies like Italy, France and Malta and which also caused friction in Germany's governing coalition. Under the spotlight is the so-called Dublin regulation determines which EU country is responsible for processing asylum claims, the general rule being that it is the first country of entry.
The matter could come back to haunt leaders as citizens could start to question the effectiveness of European institutions
The sources insisted that if the leaders failed to make any headway at this stage, the issue would only worsen and with the European Parliament elections scheduled for less than a year away, the matter could come back to haunt leaders as citizens could start to question the effectiveness of European institutions.
During an informal summit on Sunday, ahead of this week’s meeting, leaders from 16 member states, including Malta, failed to reach any conclusions.
According to the sources, EU leaders were on Thursday expected to discuss two crucial aspects on the subject – the handing out of some €3 billion to Turkey as well as funding for African countries.
“There are two different school of thoughts but the leaders will hopefully attempt to find common ground that will ensure both aspects are addressed,” the sources said, adding that the control of external borders would also be on the table.
Apart from migration, the leaders were also expected to discuss Brexit as well as the multi-annual financial framework (MFF).
On the MFF, the sources said that some member states seemed reluctant to move forward while others were insisting on finalising talks.