Brussels, 07/10/2014 (Agence Europe) - Italy and the agency Frontex are making "good progress" in preparing the joint operation Triton, the European Commission announced on Tuesday 7 October.
In the Mediterranean, the operation Triton will focus on border management and control, and will assist countries in the event of migrant shipwrecks (EUROPE 11148).
"With the launch of the Triton operation, tailored to the needs and requests defined by the Italian authorities, the EU can show concrete solidarity to Italy, by reinforcing its border surveillance and supporting its humanitarian efforts", Cecilia Malmström commented.
Malmström stressed that this mission will not replace Mare Nostrum (carried out off the coast of Libya) and that the fate of that mission would be a matter for the Italian authorities alone to decide upon. She also said that it is essential that the states of the EU fully implement the common European asylum system, and that a serious effort be made to establish a truly European programme for the resettlement of refugees.
As of 1 November 2014, 'Triton' will start its work in the central Mediterranean with a budget estimated at 2.9 million euros. The details of its area of operations and the funds required were agreed on the basis of requests made by Rome. The operation will be supported by human and technical resources made available by the participant member states. Frontex has also launched an appeal to the member states to provide contributions (two surveillance aircraft, three patrol vessels and seven teams of agents for briefing/intelligence and for surveillance/identification purposes). In order to launch the first phase of 'Triton', funds have been redirected from the Internal Security Fund into the Frontex budget. An increase in the budget of the European agency for 2015 has still to be approved, so that activities can be carried out in the longer term.
As with all Frontex operations, Triton must respect international and EU rules, including the fundamental rights and the principle of non-refoulement. (LC)