EU home affairs ministers meeting in Brussels on Thursday 14 September once again gave their backing to Italian efforts to stem the arrival of migrants on its coasts from Libya.
As they did in Tallinn on 7 July (see EUROPE 11824) with the draft code of conduct for NGOs, ministers this time congratulated Italy on its various initiatives, such as its agreements with Libyan localities to find new ways of increasing economic wealth for those who might be tempted to become people smugglers. Without giving precise figures or detailing their plans, many also indicated their willingness to become involved, notably financially, to support these Italian efforts.
The initiatives are, however, controversial: in reality, Italy is reaching agreement directly with the people smugglers and paying them millions of euro to stop the trafficking, the Italian press has suggested recently. A very bright light has also been shone these last few weeks on what the living conditions really are like for migrants in reception centres in Libya. On Thursday afternoon, a number of national delegations described these conditions as appalling, a source has revealed, and they called for action from the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) or the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
Without commenting on the nature of the local agreements, European Migration Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos said that, if the Libyan flows had fallen by almost 80% in a year, it is thanks to “good cooperation between the players”. The Commission also supports what Italy is doing, by, for example, contributing to the training of Libyan coast guards and cooperation with neighbouring countries. While not financing Italy’s local action, the Commission regularly provides Rome with funding under migration management.
At the start of July, the Commission also announced a new round of resettlement of refugees currently in Libya or in other countries, such as Egypt, Sudan, Niger and Ethiopia (See EUROPE 11822). The Commission said that the new scheme, with its budget of €377 million, could make it possible to take in 37,000 refugees. It gave the member states until 15 September to inform it of their commitment intentions.
On Thursday, the Commission was not able, however, to give an overview of commitments, with some countries, such as France, having already told the Commission that they will not adhere to the deadline. At the end of September, the Commission is expected to formulate new proposals, notably for Africa on legal migration. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)