Southern EU nations call for growth, burden-sharing on migration

Southern EU leaders on Friday called for revised asylum rules to fight the ongoing migration crisis, and appealed for unity ahead of a showdown on the post-Brexit future of the bloc. A joint declaration signed by France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Cyprus, Malta and host Greece said the European Union should double the funding for strategic investment and for additional European experts to help the front-line states tackle migration. "We are not, nor do we wish to be, another grouping, another initi