European Union (EU) foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini says there is clear determination from all EU member states to continue the Operation Sophia military mission in the Mediterranean.

Speaking at a press conference after an informal meeting of EU defence ministers in Vienna on Thursday, Mogherini said while the nature of the talks was not conducive to making decisions, she wished to see whether the will of member states to continue the mission was evident.

She noted that this was definitely the case.

The Sophia mission, that is intended to curb people smuggling and protect refugees at sea, has recently been subject to debate between EU member states.

Mogherini said while it is important, it is still only part of a wider problem, which is how the responsibility of dealing with migration streams into Europe and asylum seekers is divided up amongst EU member states.

She said the issue will require more than just the input of ministers of defence, however, and indicated that migration would be on the agenda for talks at a meeting of EU heads of state in Salzburg in mid-September.

As part of the EU approach to stop human smugglers in the Mediterranean, the EU launched a military operation, namely EUNAVFOR MED - Operation Sophia in the southern central Mediterranean in June of 2015.

So far, Operation Sophia has rescued more than 49,000 migrants.