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The US shares responsibility for the ongoing migrant crisis, according to Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern. Speaking on the sidelines of an EU summit in Malta, he stated that American interventions are in part to blame for the refugee flows.

There is no doubt that America shares responsibility for the refugee flows by the way how it intervened militarily, Kern said on Saturday, as cited by AFP.

Its unacceptable for the international community if America wants to avoid responsibility. We need to make this clear to our American friends. Im convinced that there will be a high degree of unanimity [among EU leaders] on this question, Kern went on to say.

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The refugee crisis that has engulfed the world due to these conflicts has been the major point of discussion for the EU summit in Malta. The attendees have not been pleased with the agenda of the current US administration with regard to this issue.

While criticizing interventions launched by former US administrations, the Austrian chancellor also lashed out at the newly elected presidents recent move to ban entry to the United States to residents of seven Muslim states.

The entry bans against seven Muslim countries are... highly problematic. We should win these countries as allies in the fight against [radical] Islamism, not define them as adversaries, Kern stated.

Last week, Donald Trump issued an executive order that banned citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen from entering the US for 90 days. The roll-out of the executive order caused mass confusion, deportations, protests, and lawsuits.

The attorneys general of 16 states and the District of Columbia issued a joint statement earlier this week calling the executive order unconstitutional, un-American and unlawful. As a result, US District Court Judge James Robart issued a nationwide restraining order against enforcing the presidents will, noting, however, its temporary nature.

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Trumps travel ban has not been met well by the international community or the American public.

Just ahead of the Malta meeting, EU President Donald Tusk took an unprecedented step, warning European leaders that Trumps policies posed a potential threat to the bloc, along with China, Russia, and radical Islam. German Chancellor Angela Merkel stated at the summit that fighting international terrorism is not something that will justify throwing a general suspicion on people of a certain faith or a certain origin.

French President Francois Hollande also expressed concern over Trumps recent statements, whether regarding US membership in NATO, Brexit, or criticism of the EUs migrant policies, noting that what matters is solidarity at the EU level because who knows what the US president really wants, particularly in relation to the Atlantic alliance and burden-sharing?

The European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said there was nothing to fear with regard to Trump, yet he voiced concern that the new US administration may not be entirely on top of the current world affairs.

Spanish MEP Javier Couso told RT that the EU states are united in their criticism of Trumps migrant policies, as they contradict European values.

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Trump's comments are quite aggressive... It should be noted that the actions of Trump, responsible for governing a UN member-country, against migrants and refugees are in stark contrast with our culture, our judgments. With regard to this we share the same opinion... We believe that we can not judge one nation, or one religion, can not generalize, because it makes no sense. After all, a lot of the terrorists were from Saudi Arabia, and the measures were not taken against this country, as it is one of the main US allies in the region.

According to Couso, it is unlikely the EU will adopt any preventive measures against the policies of the US administration as the US holds great power, while European leaders bark but never bite.

I think there are two opinions in the EU. On the one hand, there is a part that wants a unified approach to face the challenges associated with the new administration more aggressively. On the other hand, there are leaders, like Mariano Rajoy, who expressed the need to calmly observe the actions of the administration. These claim that it is necessary to defend the unity of Europe, but to do it in a more relaxed manner.

I do not know where we will come at the end. Whether we will start confrontation or not. After all, enormous power is concentrated in the US, while European leaders bark much, but never bite, so it is difficult to predict the course the future events.

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'US interventions a reason for migrant crisis, US should share burden' Austrian Chancellor - RT

Donald Trump has unnerved some European leaders.

European Union leaders have signalled caution and confusion about America's potential new direction under Donald Trump.

European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker said he did not feel threatened by the new president, but "there is room for explanations because of the impression that the new administration does not know the EU in detail but in Europe details matter".

Austria's Christian Kern said: "Today we have pretty mixed feelings, to be honest, because the tangible aspects of Mr Trump's policies are raising some concerns.

"It's not a threat, it could be a catalyst for a strong, more united Europe. It is an alarm call to see if we are the right track."

French President Francois Hollande stressed the need for a united Europe in the face of uncertainty from the US.

Asked what he thought of leaders, like those in Hungary and Poland, who were leaning towards Mr Trump, Mr Hollande said: "Those who want to forge bilateral ties with the US are of course well understood by the public.

"But they must understand that there is no future with Trump if it is not a common position. What matters is solidarity at the EU level. We must not imagine some sort of external protection."

German chancellor Angela Merkel said: "Europe has its destiny in its own hands. I believe that the more strongly we make clear that we will define our own role in the world, the better we will be able to cultivate our transatlantic relationship."

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Migrant crisis and defence on agenda as May meets EU leaders - ITV News

Theresa May made the announcement during an EU summit in Malta.

Britain will help countries in Asia and Latin America to take in refugees in Europe, Theresa May has announced.

The move is part of a 30 million package announced by the prime minister at an EU summit in Malta, which will bring UK humanitarian support regarding the migrant crisis in the Mediterranean to more than 100 million.

The cash will go towards measures to protect vulnerable migrants from freezing conditions and the threat of people-trafficking and sexual violence.

It will also encourage them to return home rather than continue to embark on dangerous journeys to Europe.

UK money will help countries like Egypt, Greece, and the Balkan states to provide for refugees who have reached their territory from places like Syria, and to integrate newcomers into local communities.

And Britain is ready to offer support for countries in Asia and Latin America which need migrants but do not have the required infrastructure in place to receive them.

International Development Secretary Priti Patel said migration challenges cannot be ignored.

International Development Secretary Priti Patel said: "Global Britain is stepping up its support for the most vulnerable refugees who are at risk and need our help.

"Conflict, drought and political upheaval have fuelled protracted crises and driven mass migration. We cannot ignore these challenges.

"This latest support from the UK will help those who decide they want to return home to do so safely, protect men, women and children from exploitation, and ensure that those caught in freezing conditions get the basic help they need to survive."

The new funding will help provide:

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Theresa May announces 30m package to ease migrant crisis - ITV News

Theresa May will pledge the UKs support over the migrant crisis when she meets EU leaders in Malta. Photograph: Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP/Getty Images

The UK will remain a reliable partner for the EU in helping to tackle the Mediterranean migration crisis even after Brexit, Theresa May is to tell her fellow European leaders at a summit in Malta on Friday.

The prime minister will use the meeting to reassure the remaining 27 EU members that Britain will not step back from such international obligations, Downing Street said, while also urging them to spend more on defence in the era of Donald Trumps scepticism about Nato.

The summit, held at the Grand Masters Palace in Valletta, will be Mays first encounter with the other EU nations since a meeting in Bratislava in December, which at one point saw May pictured standing alone as other leaders chatted around her.

May is expected to stay only for the morning session and working lunch, which is focused on how to deal with the number of migrants and refugees seeking to enter Europe via the Mediterranean and Libya, and the human cost, both in terms of assistance and the large numbers who drown trying to cross.

The agenda is directed at trying to stop people smugglers, and seeking ways the EU can better cooperate with the authorities in Libya, a major exit point for those seeking to enter Europe.

A Downing Street statement released in advance of the meeting said May would stress that migration has been one of her political priorities during her time in government and remains so.

It added: She will say that the UK has played a central part in tackling this crisis and will remain a reliable partner.

May is also expected to have some bilateral chats with fellow EU leaders, though details of any plans have yet to be released.

The prime ministers spokeswoman said she wanted to keep strong EU links after Brexit. We are very clear we want to see a strong and successful EU, now and into the future, that we can have a mature and constructive partnership, she said.

The summit comes amid a busy period of international meetings for May. Last week she made a high-profile and controversial visit to Washington to see Trump, before holding talks in Ankara with Turkeys president, Recep Tayyip Erdoan.

On Monday she is due to host the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, at Downing Street.

Her office said she would brief EU leaders over her US visit, and what May said was a guarantee from Trump to be completely supportive over Nato. She will also stress the need for other Nato members to meet the commitment of spending 2% of their GDP on defence, so that the burden is more fairly shared.

May will miss the afternoon session of the Valletta summit, at which the remaining 27 EU leaders will resume discussion of how Brexit can be handled, and preparations for next months 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, which set up the EUs precursor, the European Economic Community.

It comes a day after the UK government set out its longest statement of intent yet on Brexit, with the publication of a 77-page parliamentary white paper about the plans for the process.

In a letter this week to EU leaders, Donald Tusk, president of the European council, who will chair the talks, said the anniversary would be a chance to strongly reiterate these two basic, yet forgotten, truths: firstly, we have united in order to avoid another historic catastrophe, and secondly, that the times of European unity have been the best times in all of Europes centuries-long history.

He added: It must be made crystal clear that the disintegration of the European Union will not lead to the restoration of some mythical, full sovereignty of its member states, but to their real and factual dependence on the great superpowers: the United States, Russia and China. Only together can we be fully independent.

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May to pledge continued support for EU on Mediterranean migration crisis - The Guardian

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The North African country said it would need more money from European nations if it is to strike a deal with them to stop large numbers of asylum seekers crossing the Mediterranean.

Brussels dropped its biggest hint yet today that it wants to seal an agreement with Libya like the one it has with Turkey, under which economic migrants are swiftly deported from the continent.

The EU-Turkey deal has led to a dramatic fall in the number of migrants arriving in Greece, but the pressure has simply switched to Italy instead and the route through Libya.

Libyan prime minister Fayez al-Sarraj visited the Belgian capital today to lay down his demands, after his Maltese counterpart Joseph Muscat warned a fresh migrant crisis could kill the whole EU project.

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Like Turkeys president Recep Erdogan before him Mr al-Sarraj, who is head of the war-ravaged countrys internationally recognised government, seemed to recognise he has Europe over a barrel on the issue of migration.

He told a press conference: Irregular migration is a major problem. It is something dramatic. We hope that the EU mechanisms to help Libya will be more practical.

This will help us to solve the problem and to save the lives of the irregular migrants and return them to their countries of origins, where they should hopefully find some jobs and growth so they dont need to think of leaving and migrating at risk to their lives.

We hope that the EU mechanisms to help Libya will be more practical

Libyan PM Fayez al-Sarraj

He then added: We are not going to mention the amount of money that ... dedicated to Libya for this help because they are very humble, very small amounts.

The EU has already agreed to help bolster Libyas coast guard with extra training and is also set to lay on the cash to persuade the impoverished country to take back migrants caught at sea.

Brussels had to promise Turkey an eye watering 5 billion to get it to agree to a similar deal, although it is believed that Libya would demand less than this.

EU Council president Donald Tusk said: Europe has proved it is able to close down irregular routes of migration as we did on the eastern Mediterranean route.

Now it is time to close down the route from Libya to Italy. I can assure you it is within our reach."

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Migrants try to reach a rescue craft from their overcrowded raft, as lifeguards from the Spanish NGO Proactiva Open Arms rescue all 112 on aboard

He vowed: What we need is a full determination to do that. We owe it first and foremost to those who suffer and risk their lives but we also owe it to the Italians and all Europeans.

The deadly route across the Mediterranean is now the main gateway to Europe, with some 181,000 arrivals in 2016.

It is run by smugglers who operate with impunity in Libya, which slid into chaos after the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

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OVER A BARREL: Libya demands EU taxpayers cough up or face massive migrant influx - Express.co.uk