EU soldiers may board, search and seize vessels on the high seas used for human smuggling even without a UN mandate, The Sunday Times of Malta has learnt.
The proposal, which relies on existing international laws, is included in a draft plan to be discussed by EU foreign and defence ministers tomorrow.
The plan seen by this newspaper proposes a three-phase approach to an EU naval operation in the central Mediterranean tasked with fighting people smugglers.
The operation called EUNAVFOR Med is expected to be headquartered in Rome. EU ministers will be told that according to existing legislation States may interdict vessels suspected of smuggling migrants where the flag State grants authorisation to board and search, or where the vessel is not flagged.
Soldiers will be able to act on the high seas on the strength of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants.
But any hope of entering Libyan territorial and internal waters to arrest people smugglers will depend on a UN mandate granted by the Security Council or consent from the Libyan government.
Ms Mogherini addressed the UN Security Council last week as she sought support for an eventual resolution that would be put forward by the UK and France on behalf of the EU.
Ministers will be asked to give the military operation a mandate – subject to a UN resolution – to “take all necessary measures” against a vessel involved in human smuggling “in the territory of the coastal State”. These measures include the disposal of the vessel or rendering it inoperable.
A diplomatic source said this would give the naval operation a mandate to use helicopters or any form of aerial support to search and destroy boats on land inside Libya.
Draft plan to be unveiled tomorrow
Ms Mogherini last week ruled out putting soldiers on the ground in Libya. However, the Mediterranean mission may mimic the anti-piracy operation off Somalia, which was last year granted authorisation to use helicopters to target pirates on shore.
The first phase would involve information gathering and monitoring of migration networks as well as patrols on the high seas.
The draft plan also makes it clear that any military vessels assigned to EUNAVFOR Med will be “ready and equipped” to assist people in distress at sea allaying fears that saving lives at sea was not a priority.
The formal decision to create the Mediterranean mission should be taken at tomorrow’s meeting with ministers then expected to ask the European military authorities to set it up. The final seal of approval is then expected at an EU summit in June.
Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain have already promised to deploy warships in the mission.
The EU stepped up its efforts to tackle the migration crisis in the Mediterranean after more than 800 people died when their boat capsized off Libya last month.
The European Commission last week unveiled a comprehensive plan to tackle the issue, including mandatory quotas for the resettlement of 20,000 migrants over two years in all member states.
The Commission’s action plan is distinct from the military operation to target smugglers being pushed by Ms Mogherini.