The European Union had a summit in Valetta on 11-12 November 2015 to deal with the surge of migration to Europe and made a 
declaration at the end of the summit which is summed up as follows.
We, the participants to the Valletta Summit on Migration are deeply concerned by the sharp increase in flows of refugees, asylum seekers and irregular migrants
- agree that the first priority in this context is to save lives
- agree to respond decisively and together manage migration flows in all their aspects
- reiterate our firm commitment to respect international obligations and human rights
- recognise the high degree of interdependence between Africa and Europe as we face common challenges
- fully recognise the benefits of well-managed migration and mobility between and within our continents
- commit to address the root causes of irregular migration and forced displacement
- acknowledge that further efforts should be made to advance legal migration and mobility possibilities
- are determined to strengthen the fight against irregular migration
- undertake to scale up our joint efforts in preventing and fighting migrant smuggling, eradicating trafficking in human beings
- agree to strengthen international protection and step up assistance
- commit to undertake concrete actions to respond to challenges of migration and mobility
- commit to allocate appropriate resources to the implementation of such concrete actions
- we agree today to implement through the existing dialogues the joint Action Plan annexed to this declaration.
Progress made will be reviewed in January 2017.
See the next edition for a summary of the action
