European Union justice ministers, at a meeting in Luxembourg on October 23 2009, will discuss a European Commission proposal to set up an EU agency for migration.
 
The proposed body will "support member states in their work," according to a statement by the Swedish presidency of the EU.
 
Illegal immigration into the bloc is a priority issue for the EU, with countries such as Greece and Italy at the forefront of calls for a tougher line. The two countries are among major entry points targeted by would-be illegal entrants.
 
At a meeting of EU interior ministers in Stockholm in July 2009, there was agreement that something needed to be done to alleviate the pressure on the EU’s Mediterranean countries, but the meeting did not achieve consensus on just what should be done.
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"Two issues are the most important: one is the creation of a common European asylum system, which would mean that we would have increased solidarity between member states and more shared responsibility," said Sweden's migration minister Tobias Billstrom, who led the informal July meeting, Bulgarian news agency Focus said.
 
"The second thing is the question of legal migration: we need to open more ways for people to come to Europe and work here," Billstrom said.
 
European Commissioner Jacques Barrot said that all member states supported efforts to strengthen the EU border-control agency Frontex.
 
Many countries outside of the Mediterranean zone believe that instead of focusing on greater co-operation within the EU, the bloc should be working with migrants' countries of origin to reduce the number of people wanting to leave in the first place.
 
A September 2009 report by Frontex said that there was a downturn in attempts at illegal immigration currently, but this appeared to be linked to the economic downturn, and it was likely that the trend would change after the EC achieved economic recovery.