Brussels, 03/09/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 3 September, European Council President Donald Tusk called for a swift move on to the second phase of the EU Naval Force in the Mediterranean (EUNAVFOR Med) mission against migrant trafficking. This second phase involves boarding, inspecting and seizing the boats at sea that are used by traffickers - on condition that the boats are flagless or that the flag state gives its agreement.
At the annual conference of EU ambassadors on 3 September, Tusk said he “particularly appreciated the speed” at which the naval mission “was designed and deployed”, but he stressed that it was important “to move to the next phase”. According to High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, the mission, which was launched at the end of June, has attained the phase 1 objectives (information gathering).
Aware that the traffickers are also smuggling migrants through the Western Balkans, Tusk wanted the EU to “accelerate the parts of the enlargement process related to immigration and asylum so that these countries have a better infrastructure for handling migration challenges”. He also called for links with Turkey to be revitalised.
In addition, Tusk spoke about the situation of Ukraine in his conference speech. In his view, “Ukraine's future is a mirror image of the European Union's future as a global actor”. “Ukraine's case is a test of Europe's fundamental values in the neighbourhood. Countries in the region (…) want to know whether the future is the rule of law, or the mix of muscle and corruption they have known in the past”, he said. (Camille-Cerise Gessant)