This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-32428500

The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Mediterranean migrants crisis: Is military force the solution? Mediterranean migrants crisis: Is military force the solution?
(1 day later)
European leaders are scrambling to find a way to stem the flow of migrants across the Mediterranean, after a large spike in deaths drew public condemnation.European leaders are scrambling to find a way to stem the flow of migrants across the Mediterranean, after a large spike in deaths drew public condemnation.
The most eye-catching of the plans is the push for a military mandate to destroy boats used by people traffickers before they set out to sea. On Monday EU foreign and defence ministers are expected to approve a military mandate to destroy the boats used by people-smugglers operating in Libya.
The idea has the backing of Italy's Defence Minister Roberta Pinotti, who told Italian TV: "The plans for military intervention are there."
But would military action really work - and if not, what would?But would military action really work - and if not, what would?
Destroy the boatsDestroy the boats
The details of the EU's proposals for a military mandate are unclear at this stage. Admiral Lord West, former head of the UK's Royal Navy, has described the reported EU plans to destroy the boats used by people smugglers as "difficult but achievable".
But a 10-point action plan released before Thursday's emergency EU summit said: "The positive results obtained with the Atalanta operation should inspire us." "I think we should try... to come to some agreement with [the Libyan authorities] so that we can send boats back into a harbour, and have some way of disabling them, or disable them at sea and send the people back into shore," he told the BBC.
Gerry Northwood is the former head of operations for Operation Atalanta, a multi-national force first deployed in December 2008 to stop pirates off the coast of Somalia. The European Commission has previously suggested the EU's tactics should be inspired by the "positive results" obtained by Operation Atalanta, the EU's anti-piracy mission off the coast of Somalia.
He told the BBC that using a military mandate to destroy boats before they leave would have "limited value". But Gerry Northwood, Atalanta's former head of operations, says destroying boats would have "limited value".
Boats are "cheap and plentiful" and easily replaced, he added. Boats are "cheap and plentiful" and easily replaced, he told the BBC.
And while we do not know what form a direct attack on the vessels might take, Mr Northwood, a former captain in the UK's Royal Navy, said this approach could result in unwanted loss of life. He also warned this approach could result in unwanted loss of life.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said that any kind of military action could only be based on international law - potentially including a UN Security Council Resolution. EU countries are seeking a UN Security Council resolution to give the mission legal backing.
But Hans Lucht, writer and senior researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies, says it may be a challenge to get some countries, especially Russia, to go along with a new intervention involving Libya. But Hans Lucht, writer and senior researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies, says it may be a challenge to get some countries - especially Russia - to go along with a new intervention.
The authorities there have admitted to the BBC that they rarely stop traffickers. The collapse of central government and the rise of Islamic State militants have left the country in chaos. Authorities in Libya, where central government collapse and the rise of Islamic State militants have caused chaos, have objected to the EU's proposals.
Meanwhile destroying the boats would not necessary stop the trafficking, Mr Lucht adds. Meanwhile Mr Lucht adds that destroying the boats would not necessary stop trafficking networks, which have "become widespread and have strong local and ethnic ties".
"We know little about the smugglers. They don't have a main office that you can walk into and arrest everybody.
"Reports show that criminal activity and traffic in illicit goods - not just human beings but also drugs, weapons and smuggled goods - have become widespread and have strong local and ethnic ties.
"You can't just expect to hit one or two smuggling operations and then the whole thing goes away.""You can't just expect to hit one or two smuggling operations and then the whole thing goes away."
Send them backSend them back
Earlier this week, Australian PM Tony Abbott urged Europe to follow his country's lead, saying: "The only way you can stop the deaths is, in fact, to stop the boats." In April Australian PM Tony Abbott urged Europe to follow his country's lead, saying: "The only way you can stop the deaths is, in fact, to stop the boats."
Australia detains all asylum seekers who arrive by boat, holding them in offshore processing camps.Australia detains all asylum seekers who arrive by boat, holding them in offshore processing camps.
Military vessels also intercept migrant boats, towing them back to the country they came from or sending asylum seekers back in inflatable dinghies or lifeboats. Military vessels also intercept migrant boats, towing them back to the country they came from, or sending asylum seekers back in dinghies or lifeboats.
The EU's plans include "organising emergency relocation" and the "the rapid return of illegal migrants", although turning boats around is not listed as an option.
Australia's approach has been hailed by some European politicians, but criticised by rights groups and the UN.Australia's approach has been hailed by some European politicians, but criticised by rights groups and the UN.
Paul Barrett, a former secretary of Australia's defence department, told the UK's Guardian newspaper that returning vessels to Libya was very different from turning them back to countries such as Indonesia.Paul Barrett, a former secretary of Australia's defence department, told the UK's Guardian newspaper that returning vessels to Libya was very different from turning them back to countries such as Indonesia.
"If you turn around boats that are fleeing from Libya and send them straight back to Libya you're injecting them straight back into the danger that they've fled," he said."If you turn around boats that are fleeing from Libya and send them straight back to Libya you're injecting them straight back into the danger that they've fled," he said.
Any operation would be obliged to observe the international legal principle of "non-refoulement" - meaning that people fleeing conflict or persecution are not sent back to a life-threatening place.Any operation would be obliged to observe the international legal principle of "non-refoulement" - meaning that people fleeing conflict or persecution are not sent back to a life-threatening place.
Meanwhile Gerry Northwood said his experience in Somalia showed that migrants were so not easily deterred, with the same people attempting a crossing a "third, fourth, or fifth time around". Could Australia's tough approach to migrants work in Europe?
Boost naval patrolsBoost naval patrols
Mr Northwood said the main lesson from the Atalanta anti-piracy operation was the need for co-operation between countries, as well as with the commercial shipping sector. Gerry Northwood said the main lesson from Operation Atalanta was the need for co-operation between countries, as well as with the commercial shipping sector.
Several EU member states pledged additional resources for naval patrols at the summit on Thursday. Several EU member states pledged additional resources for naval patrols at a summit in Brussels in April.
EU leaders also said they would give extra funding to search and rescue operations - although rights groups said they had not gone far enough. Leaders also said they would give extra funding to search and rescue operations - although rights groups said they had not gone far enough.
Some EU countries including the UK had previously claimed such operations encouraged more people to attempt the perilous journey.Some EU countries including the UK had previously claimed such operations encouraged more people to attempt the perilous journey.
But Mr Norwood said he backed more naval patrols. "There is value in these patrols in terms of maintaining law and order on the high seas," he said. But Mr Northwood said he backed more naval patrols. "There is value in these patrols, in terms of maintaining law and order on the high seas," he said.
However, the only real solution to the problem is to improve conditions ashore, while ensuring the criminal networks "do not have any targets", he added.However, the only real solution to the problem is to improve conditions ashore, while ensuring the criminal networks "do not have any targets", he added.
For pirates off the Somali coast, this means protecting vulnerable ships. But in the Mediterranean it means working to stop the flow of migrants.For pirates off the Somali coast, this means protecting vulnerable ships. But in the Mediterranean it means working to stop the flow of migrants.
"Anything you do at sea is effectively a sticking plaster," he said.
"Until you actually stop the migrants coming off, or being able to come off in the first place, you are limited in the degree to which you can solve this problem."
Let them inLet them in
In his closing statement on Thursday, European Council President Donald Tusk said: "We will step up efforts to address conflict and instability as key push factors of migration." The European Council President, Donald Tusk, has said: "We will step up efforts to address conflict and instability as key push factors of migration."
Mr Tusk also said the EU would "co-ordinate the resettlement of more people to Europe on a voluntary basis and with an option for emergency relocation". Meanwhile the increasing death toll in the Mediterranean - 1,800 migrants are believed to have died making the crossing so far this year - has boosted calls for countries to let more migrants in.
The majority of migrants who arrived by sea in 2014 came from Syria, where a brutal civil war has raged for more than four years. The European Commission has unveiled a controversial plan for national quotas to relocate many migrants who have reached Europe. Some experts believe countries should do more to facilitate legal migration.
In 2013 Sweden announced it would grant permanent residency to Syrians seeking asylum.
And the deaths of more than 750 people in the Mediterranean on Sunday only served to highlight calls for countries to let more migrants in.
"The root cause of people getting on rickety boats or paying smugglers in the first place is that they have been legally barred from travelling by any other means," says John Lee from the action group Open Borders."The root cause of people getting on rickety boats or paying smugglers in the first place is that they have been legally barred from travelling by any other means," says John Lee from the action group Open Borders.
"If EU countries let these people buy a plane ticket in the first place, you wouldn't have the sort of deadly chaos we're seeing now in the Mediterranean.""If EU countries let these people buy a plane ticket in the first place, you wouldn't have the sort of deadly chaos we're seeing now in the Mediterranean."
European leaders facing economic pressures and concerns over immigration in their own countries are unlikely to suddenly transform their policies on this issue.
But Mr Lee argues that the problem will therefore remain.
"Ultimately if you prevent broad swathes of people from living in societies governed by safe and sane rule of law, simply because they weren't lucky enough to be born into those societies, you are going to see civil disobedience to this arbitrary exclusion."