EU approves naval mission against human traffickers

EU ministers yesterday said they would approve plans for an unprecedented naval mission to stop people smugglers as Nato warned that Islamic militants might be hiding among the flood of migrants crossing the Mediterranean.

The ambitious operation starting in June will involve the deployment of warships and surveillance aircraft off the coast of Libya, the epicentre of the humanitarian disaster unfolding on Europe's southern shores.

The European Union's military plan also includes the possible destruction of smugglers' boats in Libyan waters, although that will require a UN Security Council resolution to be in line with international law.

Already 2015 is shaping up as the deadliest year for refugees crossing the Mediterranean, with more than 1,800 dying this year. In total more than 5,000 have died in the past 18 months.

EU diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini said approval by the 28-nation bloc's foreign and defence ministers at a "very intense" meeting in Brussels would help push the United Nations into action.

"I have seen no major political resistance" during recent talks at the UN, she said.

Mogherini has insisted there is no question of EU "boots on the ground" in Libya, where political chaos and the rising threat of Islamic State militants make it the main launching point for people risking their lives in flimsy dinghies or overcrowded fishing boats.

Pressure has grown on governments to act after an overcrowded migrant boat sank in the Mediterranean last month, leaving more than 750 dead in a case that sparked international outrage.

But Nato head Jens Stoltenberg, also attending the meeting, yesterday warned that fighters from Islamic extremist groups could also be making the crossing, posing an additional security threat.

Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain have already promised to deploy warships for the mission, a rare joint EU military venture.

Rights groups have criticised the military option, saying it will not solve the problem of complex smuggling networks and of a huge number of people fleeing war and poverty.

Andrew Stroehlein of Human Rights Watch said it was "utter madness".

The naval operation is part of a wider EU blueprint launched last week which envisaged sharing the migrant burden more evenly among member states and increased cooperation with source countries to help stem the tide of people seeking a better life in Europe.

The EU has also pledged to boost funding for and step up non-military search and rescue efforts in the Mediterranean.

But parts of the plan -- particularly quotas for distributing asylum seeker arrivals around the EU -- are causing deep divisions.

Britain says it will not take part in the quota system and has received support from France, Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia.