EU Creates Naval Task Force as Refugee Crisis Worsens

The European Union (EU) this week established a naval task force to try to stem the massive migration of refugees and economic migrants across the Mediterranean. With a headquarters in Rome, Eunavfor Med will be led by the Italian aircraft carrier Cavour and comprise eight vessels and 12 aircraft from 14 EU states. But although defense officials in Brussels have discussed destroying fuel dumps in Libya and mounting commando raids there to destroy boats before they are loaded with migrants, such action has been deferred to “a later stage of the mission,” they said. 

According to the EU border management agency Frontex, 153,000 migrants have been detected entering Europe in the first five months of this year. In May alone, 20,500 reached Italy by sea, mostly from Libya. But almost as many—19,000crossed the Agean Sea from Turkey to land on Greek islands. Frontex manages two rescue operations in these areas, Operations Poseidon Sea in the Agean, and Triton in the central Mediterranean. The latter has a budget of €38 million this year, and comprises three aircraft, two helicopters and 18 vessels.

Meanwhile, the Italian Ministry of Defense has highlighted the role played by the MQ-1/9 Predator/Reaper UAV fleet of the Italian air force. It said, “The aircraft’s surface-search radar detections resulted in EO/IR imagery of the migrant vessels that was disseminated in real time to our air force, navy and Coast Guard commanders, allowing them to understand how many victims were aboard the boats and the extent to which they were damaged, and enabling us to vector in the appropriate Navy vessel to perform the rescue.”