Dimitris Avramopoulos, the EU Commissioner for Migration, will on Thursday morning attend the funeral service for the 24 migrants brought to Malta after their boat capsized.

The bodies were the only ones recovered so far from the tragedy, which is estimated to have left some 800 people dead.

Mr Avramopoulos is expected to arrive in Malta tomorrow evening after a visit to Rome.

After attending the service, he will head on to the EU summit during which the European Commission will propose a pilot programme for the resettlement of migrants to be shared among all member states.

New proposals to tackle the migration crisis also include destroying smugglers' boats and a new programme to send migrants home.

The proposals also call for the reinforcing of EU border control operations in the Mediterranean with more money and equipment and the extension of the operational area.

The unscheduled urgent summit was called by Italy and Malta following the weekend tragedy.

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