A large-scale rescue mission for migrant boats across the whole of the Mediterranean was proposed yesterday by the European Commission.
The proposal was presented by Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmström to EU ministers in Luxembourg. It was prompted by the sinking of a migrant boat close to Lampedusa last Thursday in which more than 300 people were feared to have died.
Ms Malmström said yesterday she was proposing “a big Frontex operation right across the Mediterranean, from Cyprus to Spain, for a big save and rescue operation”. Frontex is the EU’s external borders agency that offers technical and operational assistance to member states.
The proposed operation would “help better tracking, identification and rescue of boats, especially migrants’ boats,” the Commissioner’s spokesman told the BBC, helping to “prevent tragedies like the one in Lampedusa”.
Helping to prevent tragedies like the one in Lampedusa
No details were provided on where the migrants rescued in this operation would be disembarked. Ms Malmström’s spokesman Michele Cercone said he had nothing to add when contacted.
The Commissioner sought political support and resources for the expanded Frontex mission at yesterday’s meeting of the Home Affairs Council in Luxembourg, attended by the relevant ministers from each member state.
The meeting was planned before the Lampedusa tragedy to discuss the free movement of EU citizens.
Speaking after the meeting, Malta’s Home Affairs Minister Manuel Mallia said expanding the scope of Frontex in the Mediterranean was just one proposal discussed.
Dr Mallia said that Malta proposed setting up an EU task force for irregular migration, with an operational action plan to tackle all issues.
“We were pleased to note that the Commission stated they would support the idea of a task force,” the minister said.
He also suggested that Libya could accept asylum applicants if “the right regulations are found”. Libya is not currently a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention.
Frontex would require additional resources to fulfil the Commission’s proposed ambitious mission as it has seen its budget fall over the past three years. It relies on donations from member states for ships, helicopters and other equipment.
This year it has conducted several distinct maritime operations in the Mediterranean, including Operation Hermes, which focused on combating “illegal” migration flows from North Africa towards Lampedusa, Sardinia and Sicily.
Frontex estimates that some 31,000 irregular migrants have reached Europe using the Central Mediterranean route this year, the vast majority of which made landfall on Italian islands.
Meanwhile, the European Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) issued an appeal yesterday for fishermen and others who rescued irregular migrants not be penalised.
The FRA co-chairs the Frontex Consultative Forum on Fundamental Rights, which advises the director and management board of Frontex.
Migrants interviewed by FRA for a March 2013 report on fundamental rights at Europe’s southern sea borders recounted experiences of fishing vessels ignoring them. Some fishermen tended not to report anything to the authorities, although they sometimes gave migrants food and water.
The report noted that fishermen were often concerned that if they assisted migrants they could become involved in long bureaucratic legal procedures or be prosecuted for aiding illegal immigration.
“To avoid this, fundamental rights guidance should be provided to member states on how to implement the duty to punish those who help migrants cross the border in an irregular manner, as covered by EU law,” the FDA said.
In addition, migrants should not risk criminal sanctions for irregularly crossing a border, the agency said. More than half of the EU member states have criminalised irregular entry and/or stay.