Meeting in Rome the seven sought to present a united front ahead of full EU summit in March
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It was French President Emmanuel Macron's first time at a summit purely for EU leaders from seven countries in the south of the bloc.
Meeting in Rome this time, the group dubbed the "Club Med" by the press, have common emergencies such as that of migration.
It was the fourth time that leaders of Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal and Spain have met, and at discussions on Wednesday (Jan. 10) they took the opportunity to present a common front ahead of the full EU summit in Brussels in March.
The seven countries bordering on the Mediterranean and bearing the brunt of the sea migration route from north Africa are calling for the European Union to help support border control on the bloc's southern flank.
There was also a call for the EU to provide more resources for its foreign policy, with the objective of strengthening the fight against poverty on the African continent, often the trigger for migration.
Reporting for euronews Eloisa Covelli summed up the summit:
"The leaders of course spoke about immigration during the Med7 summit, but also about security, defense, education and culture... calling for a common budget for all members."
