European leaders agree to reinforce migrant rescue mission in Mediterranean

BRUSSELS, April 23 -- European leaders agreed to reinforce the Joint Operations in the Mediterranean by increasing the financial resources at the extraordinary summit on migratory pressures on Thursday.

European Council President Donald Tusk told a press conference that "we have agreed to triple the resources available to Triton border mission to enhance its operation capability."

The Triton operation is a migrant search and rescue mission run by the European Union (EU) 's justice and home affairs agency Frontex.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said the funding for the Triton operation will be increased to 120 million euros (130 million U.S. dollars).

"Given the instability in Libya creates an environment for the criminal activities of traffickers," according to an EU statement, European leaders also decided to step up cooperation against smuggling networks, through Frontex and by deploying immigration officers to the third countries.

Only 28 migrants out of 700 have survived by far after their boat capsized some 130 miles (209 km) south of Lampedusa, Italy, last Saturday night.

This disaster follows another similar tragedy which took place a week earlier, during which more than 400 migrants drowned after their vessel sank off the Libyan coast.

In response to the deaths of thousands of people in the Mediterranean, the institutions of the EU and member states have been called on to take the necessary humanitarian actions and political decisions.

Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament, called for an EU migration policy in his Preliminary remarks. However, "there is no such thing as an EU migration policy. We have a patchwork of 28 different national systems," Schulz said.

"The lack of a truly European asylum and migration policy is now turning the Mediterranean into a graveyard," said he.

Meanwhile, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi on Thursday said he was confident in the new European Union (EU)'s commitment on the migrant crisis at the extraordinary summit.

"I am optimistic on the fact that we can bring home the sign that something has finally changed in Europe ... I believe I can say there are all the conditions for a change," Renzi was quoted by Italian media as saying.