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EU could launch anti-trafficking action in coming weeks
A European Union naval operation to go after the trafficking networks that send thousands of migrants across the Mediterranean into Europe could be launched in the coming weeks and NATO stands ready to help if needed, officials said Monday
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European Union naval operation to go after the trafficking networks that send thousands of migrants across the Mediterranean into Europe could be launched in the coming weeks and NATO stands ready to help if needed, officials said Monday.
EU's foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, said she expects that a meeting of EU foreign and defense ministers will agree to establish the EU operation. Once it has done that, it needs to generate sufficient ships and other equipment and a specific military plan before action can be taken.
Under Monday's proposals, some parts of the plan could be enforced independently but a possible destruction of boats would need U.N. approval, officials said.
The EU nations have been under increasing pressure to take action to stop the tragedy on their southern shores. More than 10,000 people have been plucked from the central Mediterranean in recent weeks attempting to enter Europe from Libya. The International Organization for Migration estimates that nearly 1,830 migrants have died crossing the Mediterranean this year compared to 207 in the same period last year.
Mogherini said that once the decision for the operation is taken Monday, the EU nations "can move forward with the planning and possibly launch the operation in the coming weeks." That would coincide with the high season for migrant crossings.
NATO has not yet been approached for help, but Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the Western military alliance stands "ready to help if there is a request."
The alliance, 22 of whose member states also belong to the EU, is also ready to help Libya's government with defense-capacity building "when the situation on the ground allows for that kind of cooperation," Stoltenberg said, adding he strongly welcomes U.N. efforts to forge a government of national unity and achieve a cease-fire.
The EU is looking for U.N. backing to make its naval operation as comprehensive as possible, especially since any backing from a Libyan government with limited authority on its territory would raise questions, even among EU nations.
A decision to get a naval operation off the ground on Monday would increase the EU's political clout at UN headquarters, Mogherini said.
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John-Thor Dahlburg contributed (*)
