European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso called on the 28 EU states to show political will to try to address irregular migration.

However, he warned there is “no magical or immediate solution” and states had to be realistic.

Speaking at the European Parliament prior to the start of the two-day summit meeting this afternoon in Brussels, President Barroso said that the EU should do more to prevent tragedies as the one off Lampedusa a few days ago.

“I hope the European Council will pave the way for a new chapter in the common management, common responsibility and cooperative management at European Union level of migration policies..."

However there are “no magic or immediate solutions, and we need to be realistic.”

Mr Barroso speaking this morning.

The President of the Commission said that the character and the scale of the problem called for stronger measures to organise search and rescue operations to save lives in danger, to better protect borders, tackle the criminal networks behind the migration flows and protect those in need.

“In this sense, and knowing well that most responsibilities and competences lie at national level, more has to be done in terms of cooperation with countries of origin and transit." A greater effort also has to be made for resettlement.

"It's quite clear that Europe cannot turn its back when seeing this kind of humanitarian tragedy,” he said.

The issue of irregular migration is expected to be discussed tomorrow.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has said repeatedly he is expecting concrete results from this summit.