President of the Government Rajoy attends extraordinary European Council of Heads of State and Government

Work by the Heads of State and Government will focus on examining the current migratory situation in the Mediterranean while discussing options at the highest level to tackle the crisis and human drama created by illegal immigration in the Mediterranean, and to urge the adoption of specific and pragmatic measures that will need to be implemented by the European Union and its Member States.

The approach adopted by this extraordinary meeting will thereby be to focus on fostering specific measures and actions. A large number of these measures have already been identified by the work carried out within the European Union following the serious sinking that took place near the island of Lampedusa (Italy) in October 2013.

Firstly, the European Council members will focus their attention on those measures and actions aimed at avoiding the loss of human life on these crossings, as well as on combating organised crime gangs that exploit the desperate nature of immigrants trying to escape poverty, violence or social and political instability to risk their lives on such dangerous crossings, and on how to dissuade people from attempting such journeys.

Secondly, the talks will examine the support that should be provided to the Member States of the European Union most exposed to these migratory flows. Finally, the options for cooperating with those non-EU countries from and through which these migratory pressures flow will be examined, in order to stem the human drama.

This extraordinary meeting follows the joint meeting of EU Foreign and Home Affairs Ministers on Monday, 20 April, that, broadly-speaking, prepared the ground for these discussions, as well as the ten-measure proposal presented at that meeting by the European Commission.

These efforts are framed by the upcoming presentation by the European Commission - expected on 13 May - of an all-encompassing document on EU migration policy known as the European Agenda on Migration.

As a Member State that manages and controls an external border of the European Union with the Mediterranean and therefore boasts extensive experience in the management of maritime migratory flows, Spain wishes to make a substantial contribution to the necessary measures and to the next European Agenda on Migration. The overarching goal is for the measures and actions eventually adopted to lead to lasting solutions and avoid further tragedies such as those witnessed in recent days.