Brussels, 22/06/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 22 June, the EU foreign ministers officially launched the CSDP EUNAVFOR Med naval operation against smugglers and traffickers in the Mediterranean.
“This is probably the first time that the European Union has taken the issue of migration so seriously and so swiftly, unanimously and unitedly”, said High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini. On 23 April, the European Council tasked Mogherini with undertaking systematic efforts to identify, capture and destroy the boats before they are used by traffickers, in line with international law (see EUROPE 11301).
The operation will be launched on the ground “in the coming days”, said a senior diplomatic source. For now, the EU will launch the first phase - in other words the search for, and gathering of, information and intelligence on the route of the boats, the boats' capacity, or the people involved, and patrols in international waters. The member states - “just under ten” and both “from the north” and “from the south” - will supply five warships, two submarines, three maritime patrol aircraft, two remotely piloted planes (more commonly known as drones), and three helicopters. Over 12 countries are also taking part at the headquarters in Rome. In total, 14 countries - Italy, Germany, Greece, Luxembourg, the UK, Slovenia, France, Spain, Belgium, Finland, Hungary, Lithuania, the Netherlands and Sweden - are taking part in the operation - be this by providing means or at the headquarters. “It's the first time there has been such quick engagement” in three years, the source stated, adding that it was “an excellent augur for the rest of the operation”.
Rear Admiral Enrico Credendino, who has been appointed as commander of the operation, will be assisted at sea by Force Commander Rear Admiral Andrea Gueglio. The command ship will be the Italian aircraft carrier Cavour. The operation, of around a thousand men, will begin with training before deployment, because “the environment is complex”, including sea rescue and a threatening environment - with traffickers now being quick to use weapons.
The operation, in the first phase, should reach full capacity “probably in a month, at the next Foreign Affairs Council” on 20 July, the European source added. The source stated that the objective is to understand the traffickers' business model better in order to be able to recommend different ways to take action, including military means. “We know a lot, but not enough to target (…), to know precisely who, when, how - these are the details needed in order to know where the money is going, where it's coming from, who the people are that are taking this action. This is the type of information that we are progressively going to gather”, said a European source, who added that the first phase would keep going when the other phases have been launched.
To move on to the next phases, an assessment from the Council will be needed to see if the conditions have been fulfilled. When the Council believes it is possible to move on to the next phase, the PSC will be able to take a decision on this. However, the EU will also need a UN resolution - and in order to have this resolution, the UN Security Council - particularly Russia and China - would like an invitation or agreement from the Libyans for this operation. “We have worked both with our regional partners and within the framework of the UN so that this [moving on to later phases] can happen at the most reasonable time we can plan”, Mogherini stated.
The ministers could assess the launch of the operation at their next meeting on 20 July. (Camille-Cerise Gessant)