The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, was pessimistic on Monday, 18 March about the future of the EUNAVFOR Med Operation Sophia.
"In the absence of an agreement, obviously the operation will be shut down. I still hope that an agreement will be found, but I don’t see particular movement in this direction", she told the media after the Foreign Affairs Council. "If no further development in positive direction as end of March, the operation will end its activities with all the consequences that will bring with it", she insisted (see EUROPE 12184/6).
The mandate of the operation runs until 31 March and the issue of the disembarkation of migrants rescued by the operation's boats is still unresolved.
A European source explained last week that Member States were being put aside in the ongoing negotiations, stating that they were taking place between the European External Action Service (EEAS) and Italy. “At the moment, this is an Italo-Italian issue between Italy and a number of people [in the EEAS] who are also Italian and they are talking in Italian”, the source explained. This source hoped that this discussion would allow the subject to return to the Member States. “For the moment, there is no discussion, we are waiting”, the source added.
The operation had been extended, in a technical way, at the end of December for three months (see EUROPE 12165/23). (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)