Brussels:
EU president Donald Tusk is considering holding an emergency summit on illegal immigration, after the latest migrant boat tragedy in the Mediterranean in which up to 700 people are feared to have died.
Tusk said on Twitter he had spoken to Malta's Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and "will continue talks w/ EU leaders, Commission & EEAS on how to alleviate situation".
He would make a decision on calling a possible summit after holding these consultations, Tusk's spokesman Preben Aamann told AFP.
The latest drowning is the deadliest in a long list of migrant disasters in the Mediterranean.
Italy made a call earlier Sunday for an emergency summit of EU leaders, with Prime Minister Matteo Renzi saying Rome is working "to ensure this meeting can be held by the end of the week".
"It has to be a priority," he said.
EU foreign ministers will gather in Luxembourg on Monday at a meeting expected to be devoted to the migrant crisis.
EU commissioner for migration Dimitris Avramopoulos, who was due Monday in Spain to visit the EU's two land borders with Africa -- Ceuta and Mellila -- said he was cancelling the trip in order to attend the foreign ministers' meeting.
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Sunday urged the EU to do more to prevent further loss of life at sea amid a recent spike in the number of people attempting the illegal and dangerous crossing to Europe.
"We have suffered similar tragedies in our country and we know that there is no country in the world, no matter how strong or how many resources it has, that can tackle on its own these events," he told a rally in the Mediterranean city of Alicante.
Tusk said on Twitter he had spoken to Malta's Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and "will continue talks w/ EU leaders, Commission & EEAS on how to alleviate situation".
He would make a decision on calling a possible summit after holding these consultations, Tusk's spokesman Preben Aamann told AFP.
The latest drowning is the deadliest in a long list of migrant disasters in the Mediterranean.
Italy made a call earlier Sunday for an emergency summit of EU leaders, with Prime Minister Matteo Renzi saying Rome is working "to ensure this meeting can be held by the end of the week".
"It has to be a priority," he said.
EU foreign ministers will gather in Luxembourg on Monday at a meeting expected to be devoted to the migrant crisis.
EU commissioner for migration Dimitris Avramopoulos, who was due Monday in Spain to visit the EU's two land borders with Africa -- Ceuta and Mellila -- said he was cancelling the trip in order to attend the foreign ministers' meeting.
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Sunday urged the EU to do more to prevent further loss of life at sea amid a recent spike in the number of people attempting the illegal and dangerous crossing to Europe.
"We have suffered similar tragedies in our country and we know that there is no country in the world, no matter how strong or how many resources it has, that can tackle on its own these events," he told a rally in the Mediterranean city of Alicante.
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