Expert observers are reacting with scepticism to a plan agreed by EU leaders to tackle migration along the central Mediterranean route by attempting to prevent migrants leaving Libya.
The 10-point plan set out during an informal summit in Malta on Friday includes commitments to provide training and equipment to the Libyan coast guard and measures to disrupt the business model of smugglers.
The European Commission will release an additional €200 million in funds to support the agreement, with concrete measures to be hammered out by the Maltese presidency.
No mention of asylum procedures features in the declaration, which insists the EU will act “in full respect of human rights and international law” and includes a vague commitment to help improve the socio-economic standing of Libyan communities in coastal and border areas.
Human rights organisations have criticised the agreement for exposing vulnerable people to suffering and abuse in Libya, with Oxfam describing it as a “serious blow to core EU values”.
Mark Micallef, a researcher and consultant on migration and human smuggling, told The Sunday Times of Malta the plan was likely to yield some measure of success for EU States by boosting interceptions by the Libyan coast guard and militias currently serving coast guard functions.
But the ultimate effect, he said, would be that asylum seekers were sent back to Libyan detention centres, the majority of which were run not by government agencies but militias, some of which were in league with human smugglers.
“These detention centres didn’t have a capacity to ensure basic dignity back in 2008 and it’s a hundred times worse now,” he said. “The EU should be honest with itself: this isn’t about welfare; this is about stopping the flow.”
More worryingly, according to Mr Micallef, the agreement could further destabilise the domestic situation in Libya, where the UN-backed government has no effective control of territory and where negotiations are underway to create a Government of National Accord (GNA) with broader backing.
The EU should be honest with itself: this isn’t about welfare; this is about stopping the flow
With the UN-backed government already lacking credibility among ordinary Libyans – who continue to face crippling inflation and power cuts, and a lack of security on the streets – the “precariously balanced GNA” could be undermined by striking a major agreement perceived as serving a foreign power.
“Because there is effectively no State, this deal risks mixing militias involved in human smuggling with militias trying to operating within the law,” Mr Micallef said.
Nationalist MEP Roberta Metsola, who co-authored a major European Parliament report on migration, also highlighted the precarious situation in Libya as a hurdle to effective cooperation.
“It is positive that the EU recognises its role in helping the Libyan people build up their systems to enable it to improve its border management, deal with terrorism, to boost its asylum and law enforcement capabilities, but things will take time,” she told this newspaper.
“So the plan does in fact contain a number of important points – we do need to protect our external borders and stem illegal migration to Europe – but concurrently I would also have liked to see more commitment to solidarity and to resettlement of refugees, particularly those now-abandoned by the US, who have already passed security checks and vetting procedures.”
Dr Metsola said she had a “well-founded scepticism” towards the conclusions of the summit: “We’ve been here before and words have not translated into enough action.”
The PN made a similar point earlier yesterday, stressing that the 10-point plan would not be a quick-fix solution to addressing migration flows in Libya.
“This is a lengthy process and there are many steps yet to be taken before there are proper functioning State apparatus in Libya,” the party said in a statement.
Speaking after the summit on Friday, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat acknowledged criticism by human rights organisations but described the plan as the “first decent shot” at tackling migration from Libya.
“We know Libya is in a particular situation but this must not be an excuse to do nothing; if anything it is a reason to do more with Libya,” he said, adding that talks concerning humanitarian corridors would come at a later stage.
EU Council president Donald Tusk said that despite political instability in Libya, the UN-recognised government had to be supported in the absence of any one authority with control over the whole of the Libyan territory.