EU backs naval crackdown to end Mediterranean migrant crisis

EU nations have approved plans for an unprecedented naval mission starting next month to fight human traffickers responsible for a flood of migrants crossing the Mediterranean from Libya. The scheme backed by foreign and defence ministers in Brussels will involve European warships and surveillance aircraft gathering intelligence and then raiding boats to crack down on people smugglers.

The fundamental point is not so much the destruction of the vessels but it is the destruction of the business model of the traffickers.

EU diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini

The UK is playing the lead role at the UN Security Council in drafting a resolution that would allow the EU to destroy boats that belong to people smugglers in Libyan waters, where political turmoil has created safe harbour for traffickers. The military operation is part of a bigger EU blueprint launched after the Mediterranean experienced its deadliest ever migrant shipwreck in April, which took the death toll this year to 1,800 people alone.

Politics EU migrant