Austria and Hungary derail EU naval plan on Libya arms

Ambassadors across all 27 EU states met on Wednesday (18 March) in Brussels to discuss Irene, set to be launched start of April, but failed to come to any agreement.

An Austrian spokesperson said they took issue on procedures when it comes to withdrawing naval assets, should the operation lure migrants fleeing Libya and seeking to be rescued.

An EU diplomat made similar comments, saying the Austrian position had also been shared by Hungary.

"Austria and Hungary basically want a veto to unilaterally stop the operation, should it rescue a refugee boat in distress, and then end the deployment of naval assets," said the diplomat, who asked not to be named.

A second EU diplomat said both countries had also wanted clearer time stamps on when to review and reassess the mission's mandate.

"It was discussed and the decision was postponed, dropped, and they couldn't agree on Operation Irini," said the source, who also asked not to be named.

The plan now is to continue talks on Friday in the hopes of reaching some sort of compromise ahead of the foreign affairs council Monday next week.

But those prospects appear dim in light to the Covid-19 pandemic, forcing the foreign affairs ministers to hold their session over teleconference.

Irini was first announced mid-February, following an outbreak of fighting in Libya and international appeals to curtail the flow of weapons amid stalled attempts for a ceasefire.

Josep Borrell, the EU's chief diplomat, had in February attempted to scupper any objections (initially voiced by Italy and Austria) surrounding Irini by announcing naval assets would be pulled in case they lured migrants into seeking help.

"This new operation will have as a goal to implement the arms embargo imposed by the UN Security Council," he also said.

Irini replaces Operation Sophia, whose main objective was to prevent human trafficking, but was pulled when Italy's then far-right interior minister Matteo Salvini complained about migrant rescues.

According to an internal EU document released by Statewatch, there is no clear evidence EU naval assets at sea constitute a pull factor.

"It must be noted that, the migratory flow through the central Mediterranean substantially decreased between 2016 and 2019, while Operation Sophia's naval assets were still fully deployed," says the report.