EU leaders meeting at an extraordinary summit later today are expected to boost maritime patrols closer to Libya and will even seek to get a military mandate to destroy migrant traffickers' boats to stop tragedies at sea.
But fears are already mounting that the action plan to be discussed between the 28 EU leaders does not go far enough to stem the shocking number of migrant deaths in the Mediterranean and fails to offer a concrete long-term plan.
A draft statement seen by Times of Malta says that the EU will seek to reinforce its border patrols by at least doubling the financial resources in 2015 and 2016 and reinforcing the number of assets, thus increasing the search and rescue capabilities of Frontex.
The statement speaks of plans to increase emergency aid to frontline member states – taken to mean Italy, Malta and Greece – and consider options for organising emergency relocation between member states.
But the summit proposal – should it be approved – also indicates that the vast majority of those who survive the journey and make it to Italy will actually be sent back as irregular migrants under a new rapid-return programme.
The proposal is to set up a first voluntary pilot project on resettlement, offering “at least” 5,000 places to persons qualifying for protection.
EU leaders are also likely to agree that immediate preparations should begin to “undertake systematic efforts to identify, capture and destroy vessels before they are used by traffickers”.
Emergency teams are being proposed to be deployed to Italy to help register, fingerprint and process applications for asylum protection as refugees. Increased support is also to be given to Tunisia, Egypt, Sudan, Mali and Niger to monitor and control their land borders to prevent potential migrants getting to the Mediterranean shore.
An estimated 1,750 migrants are believed to have died trying to cross from Libya to Europe this year, confirming humanitarian organisations’ worst fears that 2015 could be the most devastating on record.
Around 1,000 people took part in a silent candle-lit vigil in Malta last night to commemorate the more than 800 migrants who died while crossing the Mediterranean last weekend.