Italian authorities seized the migrant rescue boat of German NGO Jugen Rettet on the same day, Wednesday 2 August, as the Italian parliament approved sending military vessels into Libyan waters.
With no desire being shown by its European partners to share the burden of taking in refugees arriving from Libya, Italy has decided to take unilateral action to restrict the flow of foreign nationals to its shores. On Wednesday 2 August, the Italian authorities seized the boat operated by Jugen Rettet, suspected of aiding illegal immigration from Libya into Europe. Then, under orders from the Trapani prosecutor, the boat was accompanied to and detained in Lampedusa, an island situated halfway between Sicily and the Libyan coast. The seizure of the boat follows an investigation begun last year that convinced the Italian authorities that Jugen Rettet had direct links to and was assisting human traffickers.
At the same time, the Italian parliament was giving the green light to the dispatch of a number of military vessels to Libyan territorial waters. Far from being a hostile act towards its neighbour, Italy’s deployment of vessels and personnel seeks officially to support the Libyan coastguard in its efforts to tackle people trafficking. General Haftar, who leads the uprising in the east of the country, has threatened reprisals and warned he will shell the Italian vessels. This threat is not, however, being taken very seriously by the Italian government, believing that there is no real danger.
In a further sign of the toughening of Italian policy towards migrants, a code of conduct seeking to put in place a number of rules on rescues at sea came into force on Tuesday 1 August (see EUROPE 11824, 11830 and 11841). The code of conduct containing 13 Articles could deter some NGOs from operating in the Mediterranean. Only three of the nine organisations operating in the Strait of Sicily have so far signed the document. (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)