[1/2] Migrants arrive on an Italian Coast Guard vessel after being rescued at sea, near the Sicilian island of Lampedusa, Italy, September 18, 2023.
Envoys were meeting at 0730 GMT on an amended text of the tentative agreement proposed by Spain, which chairs EU talks until the end of the year, sources said.
The meeting is the last chance to seal a deal before the bloc's 27 national leaders meet in Spain's Granada on Thursday and Friday, where they are due to discuss irregular migration amid increased arrivals across the Mediterranean, including to the Italian island of Lampedusa.
A dispute over NGOs picking up people in the sea prevented an deal among the EU's migration ministers last week but the bloc is still keen to get it done ahead of key elections in Germany, Poland and a pan-European parliamentary vote in 2024.
Reporting by Gabriela Baczynska; editing by Bart MeijerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Persons:
Yara, Gabriela Baczynska, Bart Meijer
Organizations:
Italian Coast Guard, REUTERS, Rights, Thomson
Locations:
Lampedusa, Italy, Rights BRUSSELS, Brussels, Rome, Berlin, Spain, Granada, Germany, Poland, Hungary, East, Africa