A Libyan coast guard boat rammed into a small dingy carrying some 50 migrants near Libya's coast on Friday, a sea rescue group said.<br /><br />Leaders of nine southern European countries called on Friday for the EU to finalise a new migration and asylum deal, and to beef up efforts to prevent departures from North Africa as another shipwreck drama unfolded off Libya's coast.<br /><br />It said the European Union as a bloc must strengthen its response by beefing up surveillance operations of Europe’s external borders to prevent departures and break up human trafficking networks.<br /><br />On Friday, the Libyan coast guard boat rammed into a small dingy carrying some 50 migrants near its coast, sinking the rubber vessel and throwing those onboard into the Mediterranean Sea, a sea rescue group said.<br /><br />The one-day huddle included host Malta, as well as Croatia, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain.<br /><br />At the end of the summit, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said EU countries “need to determine on our own terms who enters” the 27-nation bloc.<br /><br />“Currently it is the smugglers who decide who gets to enter the European Union and this must change.”<br /><br />Mitsotakis said EU members should focus on repatriating people who are not entitled to asylum, while at the same time providing organised legal migration pathways.<br /><br />Host Robert Abela, the Maltese prime minister, said the EU needed to speed up the time it takes to repatriate migrants whose asylum bids fail.<br /><br />Currently, the lack of repatriation accords with countries of origin allows many migrants to simply fade away and head north in search of family and work.<br /><br />“But ultimately the issue needs to be tackled at source.
