ROME (AP) — The leaders of southern European nations gathered in Malta on Friday to build a united front on key economic and political issues before next week’s European Council meeting. Key European Union jobs, migration issues and climate change were at the top of the agenda in Valletta, where the meeting included the leaders of France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Cyprus and Malta. At a final news conference, Malta’s prime minister, Joseph Muscat, said the main focus of the summit was to reach “common ground” on the priorities of the EU for the next five years. The southern European leaders discussed climate change, among other issues, with the aim of making all EU countries set a goal of being carbon neutral by 2050.