
The leaders of nine southern European Union countries met in Malta on Friday to discuss common challenges such as migration, the EU's management of which has vexed national governments in Europe for years.
The nations represented at the one-day huddle included host Malta, France, Greece, Italy, Croatia, Cyprus, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain. With the exceptions of Slovenia and Croatia, which were added to the so-called “Med Group” in 2021, the countries all rim the Mediterranean Sea.