Rome, 07/07/2014 (Agence Europe) - The Italian navy, which manages the Mare Nostrum operation, called on Saturday 5 July for Europeans to do more on migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean. The General Staff of the navy stated: We need international action and coordination from international organisations (United Nations, European Union and the African union)”. Admiral Filippo Maria Foffi, commander-in-chief, speaking from the Naval HQ in Santa Rosa, in the suburbs of Rome, stated that, “for a member state on its own, it is too much to bear”. Italy receives limited support from Frontex. In addition to the humanitarian costs, rescuing migrants also costs money. Every month, the Italian navy spends between €6-9 million on this, and this does not include the costs incurred by the department for home affairs.
Admiral Foffi added that “we need more of a commitment from all member states of the EU to improve EU border controls”. He also pointed out that “the Mare Nostrum mission is not just a humanitarian operation. It is also a security mission for the whole of the Mediterranean. These are not ordinary conditions but an emergency”. However, this emergency could very well be lasting. In 2013, almost 43,000 migrants were rescued, as opposed to 13,267 in 2012, a 224% increase. Due to the weather, there are also more migrants trying to cross in spring and summer.
Between18 October and the launch of the Mare Nostrum operation, following the shipwreck on 3 October 2013 that led to the deaths of 366 people (see EUROPE 10935) and 4 July, 73,686 migrants have been rescued under Mare Nostrum, an average of 270 a day. Once they have been taken on board naval vessels, they are given health and police checks and are identified and questioned. They are then taken to land, in Italy and the migrants who have died along the way are buried there.
Since 18 October, the Italian navy itself has intercepted 49,243 migrants, including 5,500 women and 6,014 children. The youngest unaccompanied children are reported to be five or six years of age. The migrants come mainly from Syria, Nigeria, Mali, Guinea, Pakistan, the sub-Saharan zone and Egypt. They are reported to have paid between $1000 and $1500 for their passage. Although there are fewer crossings from Egypt, notably because passenger vessels are larger, due to the distance, and therefore quickly identified and many of them have been confiscated, crossings from Libya are on the up. “Do the Libyan authorities give us information about vessels leaving their shores? Of course they don't”, a naval officer said. Italy wants the Libyan government, once it is in place, to sign the convention allowing the High Commission for Refugees to work in the country and process asylum applications (see EUROPE 11115).
Italy has had five vessels in the Mediterranean Sea since the operation started, compared to just two previously, and deploys almost continuous aerial surveillance. Since the operation started, four boats have been seized and more than 300 traffickers arrested. (CG)