The short four-hour European Council specifically on the migratory pressures in the Mediterranean has seen the EU deciding to take a far more active role against the criminals who are behind the boat people attempting to cross over and whose actions/inaction have led to so many deaths at sea.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, addressing a press conference that exceptionally had foreign media present as well as the Maltese one, said that even though Member States have increased their contribution towards alleviating the situation, this is still not enough and lives will continue to be lost mostly at sea.

On the financial side, the Member States have accepted to treble their contributions to Triton, bringing the sum total to about what Italy used to spend, alone, on Mare Nostrum some time ago.

Apart from money, some Member States have piled in with their assets. Britain will be sending its best naval vessel and even Croatia will be adding its ship.

There will be better and increased cooperation between Europol and the security services of Member States.

The novelty of today's meeting is the strong signal that the EU is sending, Dr Muscat said, that it is going after the criminals.

What this means in practical terms was not explained and perhaps is not yet fleshed out but it is clear this line of action is not directed against Libya as such but against the very small minority which is engaged in people traffic.

At the council meeting, Dr Muscat added, there was no North-South divide in the appreciation of the seriousness of the situation in the Mediterranean.

It would seem that what the EU is proposing is in part a repetition of what has been done, with some success, outside the Horn of Africa.

What is less than clear is what action will be taken against the criminal networks that work on land and which keep piling refugees in Libya.

European Parliament President Martin Schultz had previously told a press conference there is evidence of a very organised network working out of Eritrea with very sophisticated technology and highly strategic leadership.

Asked about this, Dr Muscat announced that a special summit between EU Member States, African Union member states and other countries which are key to the situation will be held in Malta later this year.

While previously it was thought that the EU-African Union summit held last year would address this problem by linking, as Dr Muscat had said at another summit, aid to reining in immigrant flows, it is now hoped the Malta summit will succeed where that summit did not.

There is also a hint, in the final document, of a direct action by the EU but this comes with all sorts of cautions. The EU prefers that any eventual action in this regard will have the support of the United Nations and Federica Mogherini, the EU foreign affairs chief, is on her way to the US. Support will be asked from Russia, China and the US.

Only if this will not be forthcoming, will the EU consider going on its own.

Among such alternatives is the creation of a national unity government in Libya which could then ask for help to secure its frontiers.

One other issue that does not seem to have brought the leaders to an agreement is that of resettlement and/or relocation. Not even Dr Muscat was clear on this point or the leaders themselves were not clear.

Introducing the press briefing, Dr Muscat said nothing new had emerged from the discussion except the consolidation of the ideas and the 10 points presented by the Commission with the one exception that the EU 'is going after the criminals.'