On Thursday 30 August, the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, welcomed the political determination of the defence ministers to find a solution for the landing of migrants rescued by a vessel of EunavforMed Operation Sophia.
“We will continue to work together (…) to find consensus on practical, sustainable solutions on the issue of how to manage the people that are disembarked by the vessels”, Mogherini explained to the press, following the meeting. She went on to stress that all options would be explored, such as the possibility of changing the place of disembarkation, or relocating persons disembarked.
The High Representative voiced hopes that a solution could be found “in the coming weeks”. “It is not, and it will not be an easy exercise", she warned, adding that putting an end to the mission would be a “major step back for all member states and for the Union”.
Although the mission's mandate will run until the end of December, the Europeans gave themselves five weeks in early summer to find a solution (see EUROPE 12068). However, the question of disembarkation is still under discussion at ambassador level within the Political and Security Committee.
Following the meeting of the ministers, the High Representative welcomed the “strong determination from all member states (…) to continue the Operation and keep it effective”.
Mogherini stressed the importance of ensuring as much clarity as possible in the rules to ensure that the military operation can unfold properly. She said that the vessels of the mission need to know where to go if a rescue activity is carried out. Continuing the operation is a “collective responsibility that all member states recognised”, she added.
But although this collective responsibility appears to have been recognised, there is no concrete progress to report. Mogherini stressed that the aim was simply to confirm the political intention of resolving the disembarkation question.
Italian proposal
During the meeting, the Italian Minister, Elisabetta Trenta, presented her government's proposal to introduce a rotation of landing ports. The Italians are proposing that a coordination unit, along the same lines as Frontex, be responsible for allocating the port of the competent country whenever an operation vessel rescues migrants or refugees. However, this proposal did not go down very well.
After the meeting, the minister said that Rome would examine Italy's participation in the operation if there can be no agreement on changing the disembarkation rules.
When asked about possible proposals for disembarkation ports from the Mediterranean member states, Mogherini said this was not the point of the meeting, explaining that the informal meeting of ministers was neither the time nor the place to take decisions on internal matters for which the home affairs ministers have competence.
Doubts over the relevance of meeting
According to one European source, several ministers questioned the relevance of the discussion, explaining that it was more a matter for their home affairs counterparts and the heads of state or government.
Mogherini pointed out that those rescued at sea by Operation Sofia represent less than 10% of all persons rescued, which means that it is just part of a much broader problem and that the EU shares responsibility for managing asylum seekers and migration flows. This is not a matter for the defence ministers or the foreign affairs ministers, she said. The discussion on whether to continue Sofia will therefore run parallel to the work underway launched by the June European Council.
The Austrian minister, Mario Kunasek, moreover, said that the question of Sofia should not be discussed at defence minister level. He stressed that the “solution must be found at the level of the home affairs ministers”. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)