Leaders of nine southern Mediterranean countries are meeting in Valletta as the EU attempts to reach a deal on how to handle asylum seekers and irregular migrants.

The 'EU-MED9' summit on Friday came a day after EU interior ministers met to discuss new migration rules that could be announced within days.

In a tweet after the first round of discussions between the leaders at the Auberge de Castille, Prime Minister Robert Abela said the meeting confirmed that EU-Southern Mediterranean relations "need a reset". 

"I eagerly anticipate that the seeds sown in Malta will ultimately deliver tangible benefits to our citizens," he said.

The first of two working sessions of the EU-MED9 meeting. Photo: DOI

France's Emmanuel Macron and Italy's Giorgia Meloni, are joining Abela and other leaders of the 'MED9', Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Portugal and Slovenia. Spain’s State Secretary for the EU is representing the country.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and her European Council President Charles Michel also met the leaders.

Watch the arrivals below

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, on her first visit to Malta, escorted to the MED9 summit by Prime Minister Robert Abela. Photo: Jonathan Borg

They posed for a family photograph at Castille square before returning for a second working session. They will address the media in Mdina later on Friday about the progress of their talks.

As the prime minister walked Macron through Castille, Abela could be heard complaining about the "continuous" arrivals of migrants on the shores of southern Europe.

"They go in on the beaches," he said. "It's not just a boat every day, it's a number of boats every day."

Prime Minister Robert Abela and French President Emmanuel Macron at Auberge de Castille. Photo: AFP

Malta was one of four EU countries to abstain in a vote in June on the revision of the bloc's rules to share the hosting of asylum seekers. Abela later claimed that it lacked flexibility. 

Only one of the EU leaders stopped to speak to the media ahead of the first working session. Portugal's Antonio Costa said the country had "no expectations" for the outcome, as "this is an informal meeting".

The summit comes amid a sharp rise in migrants landing on Italy’s Lampedusa and demands from Meloni for other EU countries to share the burden of migrants arriving from North Africa to EU shores.

Portugal's Antonio Costa was the only leader to speak to the media ahead of the summit. Photo:AFP

She has asked for more time to consider the text of the proposed EU migration rules.

Meloni and Macron have sought to ease tensions in recent days and a French presidential source told AFP that Italy and France have a “shared vision for the management of the migration question”.

Ursula von der Leyen meets with Robert Abela ahead of the first session of the MED9 summit. Photo: AFP

Charles Michel, president of the European Council, arrives for the MED9 meeting. Photo: Jonathan Borg

Von der Leyen has previously included the possible expansion of naval missions in the Mediterranean in a 10-point action plan this month in Lampedusa.

Revamped pact

The EU is poised to agree a revamped pact on Migration and Asylum, which will seek to relieve pressure on frontline countries such as Italy and Greece by relocating some arrivals to other EU states.

Those countries opposed to hosting asylum-seekers -- Poland and Hungary among them -- would be required to pay the ones that do take migrants in.

Both Meloni and Macron also want to prevent boats departing from North Africa by working more closely with Tunisia, despite questions over the country's human rights standards and treatment of migrants.

Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides at the doors of Castille. Photo: Jonathan Borg

The European Commission said last week it was set to release the first installment of funds to Tunisia -- one of the main launching points for boats -- under a plan to bolster its coastguard and tackle traffickers.

Italy's Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi met with his Tunisian and Libyan counterparts in Sicily Thursday for talks on stopping the boats, the ministry said.

Instability

Rome and Paris are also keen to intensify EU controls at sea.

The MED9 group of countries is expected to call for greater investment by the bloc in the so-called Southern Neighbourhood.

Croatia's Andrej Plenković shakes Robert Abela's hand ahead of the summit. Photo: DOI

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Photo: AFP

Extra funding may be earmarked for countries across the Mediterranean's southern shore in the review of the EU's 2021-2027 long-term budget, a European diplomatic source told AFP.

The leaders will also discuss regional challenges posed by natural disasters -- following a devastating earthquake in Morocco, flood disaster in Libya, and extreme weather events in Southern Europe.