EU plans military-led aid mission to north Africa

The European Union is preparing a military mission to deliver humanitarian aid to civilians displaced by the fighting in Libya.

EU leaders meeting in Brussels today and tomorrow (24-25 March) are expected to endorse the plans so that the mission can be ready for deployment when the United Nations requests aid. The military mission would provide food and shelter to Tunisia and Egypt, and protect their distribution.

France has also proposed another mission to set up humanitarian corridors into areas of Libya held by insurgents, but other member states fear that such a mission would risk armed confrontation with the forces of Muammar Qaddafi, Libya’s embattled leader. They also oppose the launch of such a mission while coalition air strikes continue, arguing that the line between humanitarian and offensive operations could become blurred.

Diplomats said that the EU is focusing on the humanitarian dimension of the crisis in Libya because that is the only issue on which the member states agree.

Rifts inside the EU have deepened since France, the UK and the US began an air campaign against Qaddafi’s forces on Saturday (19 March). Germany joined Brazil, China, India and Russia in abstaining from the 17 March vote at the UN Security Council authorising military action.

Ships and aircraft commanded by NATO, whose European membership largely overlaps with that of the EU, yesterday began enforcing a UN arms embargo against Libya. NATO members have committed 16 vessels to the operation, with six – the largest number by far – coming from Turkey. NATO is expected in the coming days to take over command of the air campaign as well, although its political leadership will, at the insistence of France, rest with the ad-hoc coalition currently engaged in military action. Foreign ministers from the coalition, which includes Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, are expected to meet in the coming days, possibly in Brussels.

The UK will convene a broader international conference on 29 March in London to discuss the military and humanitarian situation in Libya.

At their 24-25 March summit, EU leaders will also discuss plans for dealing with possible large-scale refugee movements from Libya and the wider region. At an emergency summit two weeks ago, on 11 March, EU leaders asked national interior ministers and the European Commission to draft proposals to improve the management of migrants and to ensure that migrants return to their countries of origin. The interior ministers will discuss the matter on 11 April.

Cecilia Malmström, the European commissioner for home affairs, and János Martonyi, the foreign minister of Hungary, which holds the rotating presidency of EU’s Council of Ministers, visited Egypt earlier this week (22-23 March) to assess the situation.

More than 335,000 people have fled Libya since the insurgency began in mid-February, most of them migrant workers from Tunisia and Egypt. Around 9,000 are still stranded at Libya’s borders with the two countries. Member states fear that an estimated one million African workers could try to reach Europe from Libya, following the example of more than 15,000 people – mostly Tunisians – who have arrived on the Italian island of Lampedusa over the past two months. The tiny island saw another wave of arrivals earlier this week. Around 5,500 migrants are currently on Lampedusa.

Italy’s authorities have complained about a lack of solidarity from other EU member states and hope that a future EU mission would also help detect and intercept migrants at sea. Italy has offered to host the mission’s headquarters.

At their summit today and tomorrow, the national leaders are also expected to discuss the violent unrest in Bahrain, Syria and Yemen.