Hungary built a wall. Europe signed a deal with Turkey. And Malta allegedly has a secret deal with Italy.

All these measures have stemmed the flow of migrants crossing Europe's borders but nothing has changed at the root of the cause - the reasons for migrants, mainly from sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East - to seek some form of dignified life in Europe still exist.

This week's EU Summit, although overshadowed by Brexit talks, again discussed the migration issue, with Europe's bigwigs arguing on methods to further restrict migration routes. 

The EU leaders once again pledged to strengthen Libya's coast guard, by providing training and funds. But human rights group Amnesty International correctly pointed out that the coast guard is plucking people from the sea and returning them to a country where they face detention and possibly torture or rape.

So while Europe is making sure that less 'undesirables' reach its shores, it is effectively overlooking the fact that these people, who many times blow their entire life savings and endure difficult ordeals for a seat on a boat to safety - even though the sea journey is the most perilous part of their saga - are being 'saved' only to be returned to the hell they came from.

EU leaders have repeatedly pushed for a replication of the Turkey migrant deal with Libya. Under that deal, Turkey gets €6 billion in return for taking back migrants who enter Greece.

Once again, this is a way of stopping migrants from leaving Libya (or returning them to the North African country) but it does nothing to tackle the source of the problem.

During the summit there was even talk, including by the Maltese PM, of banning the EU sale of rubber dinghies to Libya. Over the past couple of years hundreds of these inflatable craft, laden with men, women and children, crossed the Mediterranean sea in the direction of Italy. Many did not reach their destination.

The problem with such a plan is that human traffickers are smart people who can adapt to changing scenarios. Before rubber boats it was wooden fishing vessels. If the EU stops selling dinghies to Libya the traffickers will adapt and either build their own rickety boats or simply procure them from elsewhere.

The United Nations' migration agency the number of migrants arriving in Italy from Libya rose to 70,000 this year from 56,000 last year.

On the other hand Austria said yesterday that the number of migrants taking a cash offer in return for going back to their home country has fallen. 

This could indicate that the situation in many countries has remained the same or worsened.

While it is understandable that European countries want to secure their borders, especially in the current climate of terrorism, Europe cannot only look inwards and forget its core principles; those of human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality and respect for human rights. It also cannot forget that prevention is better than cure and, unless the problem is attacked at its source, migration will persist for many years to come, racking up bills for the EU and causing unnecessary hardships for many more thousands of human beings.