EU must focus on root causes of migration

Analysis of recent EU moves.

The EU must focus on the root causes of migration

The EU is planning to act against human traffickers in the Mediterranean. But the plight of refugees can only be relieved when its foreign policy engagement is strengthened, write Ronja Kempinand Ronja Scheler.

Ronja Kempin is Senior Fellow and Ronja Scheler is Research Assistant with the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. The original of this commentary can be found here.

Following the latest tragedy involving migrants, 28 members and leaders of the EU have initiated plans for a military operation to combat criminal gangs who smuggle refugees in thousands per ship. The details of the initiative still need to be clarified, and the body of water where the operation will cover needs to be decided. This will require Libya’s permission to destroy the smugglers’ boats in its territorial waters. The EU needs to obtain a mandate in order to operate under Chapter 7 of the United Nations (UN) charter.

Despite these measures that still need to be decided upon, the operation will come into existence, as the pressure on the EU to stop deaths in the Mediterranean is too much to ignore.

The model for the new venture is based on the maritime European Union Naval Force Somalia, or Operation Atalanta, which came into existence in 2008 in order to counter piracy off the coast of Somalia and the Gulf of Aden.

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Source: euractiv.com