Friday

2nd Jun 2023

EU aid pushing Libyan refugees back to war-hit Libya

EU support to Libya has helped return at least 17 Libyans intercepted at sea back to their war-torn country since the start of the year, posing questions on the EU's stated claim of being a world-leader in providing asylum.

That new figure comes amid a recent spike in tensions in Libya, and a tentative bid to reach a truce between the warring factions, who are backed separately by France and Italy.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

On Tuesday (14 January), the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) announced just under 1,000 people had been intercepted off the coast in the past two weeks by the Libyan coast guard. All were taken to Libyan detention centres.

Among those around 17 were Libyans, according to an IOM spokesperson.

Earlier this week, the European Commission said it was in no position to comment when pressed about the fate of intercepted Libyan families at sea that are then returned to a country in the grips of a civil war.

"It is fundamentally a question of international law and additionally it is not something that the European Union has specific competence [on]," a commission spokesperson told reporters in Brussels on Monday.

It is unclear if the intercepted Libyans were seeking asylum or refuge. Around one million people have instead fled to Tunisia.

But while the commission maintains it has no competence when it comes to rescues at sea, the EU was itself instrumental in pressuring the Libyans to set up a vast search and rescue zone.

Between 2017 and 2018, it doled out over €90m in action plans that were in part baked up by the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia. All four are known for their staunch anti-immigrant rhetoric. Hungary has described migration as a national security threat.

Around half of the €90m went to the Libyan Coast Guard. Along with financing from the Italians, the EU spent the remainder on areas like search and rescue, surveillance and border management.

The Libyans then extended their rescue zone to some 90 nautical miles off the coast and slapped an entry ban on NGO rescue vessels. In some areas, the zone extends even further.

In turn, surveillance planes operated by Frontex, the EU's border and coast guard agency, informs the Libyan Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre, which is responsible for search and rescue operations in line with the international conventions. Frontex also sends the information to neighbouring coordination centres as well as to the EU's Operation Sophia.

'World protagonist of asylum'

With the massive search-and-rescue zone now under Libyan watch, in part bankrolled by the European Union, the commission and its agencies are able to cloak their roles behind international law.

That continues to cast a long shadow over an EU policy that seeks to prevent people from leaving the wrecked country in the first place.

It also stands in sharp relief to comments once made by former chief commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas who had described the EU as the "world protagonist of asylum." Now a European Commissioner, Schinas has taken the lead on new policies dealing with asylum and migration.

Meanwhile, the past week alone has seen an additional 1,100 people fleeing Libya by boat, according to the NGO Medicines Sans Frontier.

The NGO says Libyan families were among them. It also said around 600, including women and children of undisclosed nationalities, had been intercepted at sea and returned to the country.

In September 2018, the Aquarius ship rescue operated by SOS Mediterranee picked up 58 people. Most were said to be Libyans.

Another 32 Libyans were reportedly rescued in December by the Alan Kurdi charity boat. And last week, the German flagged rescue ship Sea Watch rescued 17 people, including a Libyan family.

This article was updated on 15 January 2020 at 17:50. The original article said the Aquarius ship rescued 58 people last September. In fact, it was in 2018.

EU dismisses UN call to stop migrant returns to Libya

As the death toll of the Tajoura detention centre airstrike reached 53, including six children, the UN called for a halt to returning people to Libya. The EU - which is helping fund the Libyan coastguard - said no.

Analysis

No Libya truce in Moscow: time for EU step in

While the European Union was too divided to help resolve Libya's civil war, Russia filled the gap. It managed to get the fighting parties to Moscow, but without result.

Opinion

Turkey's tightrope could finally snap in Libya

Turkey has embarked on a neo-Ottoman strategy, aiming to re-establish itself as a regional power. This involves simultaneously reaping the benefits of Nato membership whilst pursuing an overtly-expansionist foreign policy, even including a loose partnership with Russia in Syria.

EUobserved

EU commission suffers from selective amnesia

Frontex helped the Greeks seal a land border with Turkey after 55,000 people walked across it in 2011. The EU is now telling people to apply for asylum at the same border it helped seal years ago.

NGO rescue boats do not receive Frontex alerts

Rescue boat Sea-Watch doesn't receive alerts from the EU's border agency, Frontex whenever its surveillance aircraft spots migrants in distress at sea. Frontex says it follows procedures, which Oxfam calls a carefully-crafted plan to prevent people from arriving.

Latest News

  1. Spanish PM to delay EU presidency speech due to snap election
  2. EU data protection chief launches Frontex investigation
  3. Madrid steps up bid to host EU anti-money laundering hub
  4. How EU leaders should deal with Chinese government repression
  5. MEPs pile on pressure for EU to delay Hungary's presidency
  6. IEA: World 'comfortably' on track for renewables target
  7. Europe's TV union wooing Lavrov for splashy interview
  8. ECB: eurozone home prices could see 'disorderly' fall

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. International Sustainable Finance CentreJoin CEE Sustainable Finance Summit, 15 – 19 May 2023, high-level event for finance & business
  2. ICLEISeven actionable measures to make food procurement in Europe more sustainable
  3. World BankWorld Bank Report Highlights Role of Human Development for a Successful Green Transition in Europe
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic summit to step up the fight against food loss and waste
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersThink-tank: Strengthen co-operation around tech giants’ influence in the Nordics
  6. EFBWWEFBWW calls for the EC to stop exploitation in subcontracting chains

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. InformaConnecting Expert Industry-Leaders, Top Suppliers, and Inquiring Buyers all in one space - visit Battery Show Europe.
  2. EFBWWEFBWW and FIEC do not agree to any exemptions to mandatory prior notifications in construction
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic and Baltic ways to prevent gender-based violence
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: Economic gender equality now! Nordic ways to close the pension gap
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: Pushing back the push-back - Nordic solutions to online gender-based violence
  6. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: The Nordics are ready to push for gender equality

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us