Malta to host first Maghreb-EU summit since Arab spring

(VALLETTA) - Malta hosts a summit of Maghreb and European countries next week, the first such meeting since the Arab spring uprisings that toppled several regional leaders.

The October 5 and 6 meeting of the "Dialogue Five Plus Five" will address political and economic cooperation in the wake of the revolts in several Arab and north African countries, a Maltese political source told AFP Friday.

The summit, bringing together leaders from France, Italy, Malta, Portugal and Spain along with those from Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia, is the second of the grouping, after a meeting in Tunis in 2003.

But is is the first since the fall of Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in a popular revolt in January last year and the death of Libya's Moamer Kadhafi, who was killed after being caught by rebels in October 2011.

Questions of security will be on the table, with illegal immigration from the Maghreb to Europe also likely to be a priority, as well as new areas of cooperation like education, environment and energy.

French President Francois Hollande and Italy's Prime Minister Mario Monti will be among those attending, as will Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz. Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika may not attend on health grounds.