[WATCH] Shooting down EU deal with North African countries 'won't solve anything' - Muscat

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has warned that shying away from a migration deal for the central Mediterranean "won't solve anything" and will lead to problems for Europe down the line. He reiterated that the European Union must come up with a short-term solution on migration before this coming spring.

“If there is no game-changer in the way we think about, and deal with immigration, next spring there will be many people crossing the Mediterranean and there will be no solutions,” said Muscat.

Earlier his week, European Commissioner for migration and home affairs Dimitris Avramopoulos played down the possibility of a deal being struck with Libya, insisting the country was not Turkey and that the agreement reached with Turkey could not be replicated in the worn-torn North African state. 

On Saturday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that Europe should work with Libya to control illegal migration, however stressed that a deal was not possible until Libya returned to stability.

"At the moment we cannot sign an agreement like that concluded with Turkey," said Merkel in a video podcast. She added that an agreement could only be reached once the political situation has improved and " the unity government is really a unity government that has control over the entire country."

Giving comments following an informal summit of Southern European countries, Muscat said that short-term measures were necessary. “The only solution there has been so far from Europe is the deal with Turkey. It isn’t a perfect deal and it has many problems, but it is the only solution we have had. We need a solution for the central Mediterranean, with all its problems,” he added.

The Prime Minister also said that next Friday’s Malta summit will address the future of the European Union and reaffirm unity among EU states, adding that Europe cannot survive without a vision for the future and that European leaders must put forward their ideas for the future of Europe.

In addition to migration, the heads of states discussed other issues including economic growth, investment and convergence and internal and external common security.