Following the migrant ship disaster that claimed hundreds of lives on the Ionian Sea last month, MEPs in the European Parliament came together for a hearing with representatives of the European Commission and Frontex on Thursday, July 6th. The parliamentarians were presented with a new report calling for increased EU competence to prevent similar tragedies, and also discussed Brussels’s migration cooperation with Libya and its questionable results.
As we reported then, human smugglers crammed between 400 and 750 migrants of various nationalities onto the Libyan fishing vessel which eventually capsized and sank on June 14th, just 80 kilometers off the coast of the Peloponnesian Peninsula, dragging hundreds to their death.
The report, written by the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), calls for independent investigations into all migrant shipwrecks in the Mediterranean, using the help and expertise of specialized human rights bodies. “The EU should find ways to apply the transparency and accountability principles laid out in EU rules when investigating migrant shipwrecks,” the report argues.
Some governments, however, could find the involvement of certain NGOs problematic. As we reported previously, a similar hearing on another ship that sank near the coast of Italy in February descended into chaos after a representative of Doctors without Borders (MSF) accused Rome of having a hand in the death of the 89 migrants by asserting certain policies aimed to prevent illegal entries. In turn, leftist MEPs hurled insults and vulgarities at their Italian colleagues. You can read our full report of the event here.
Blaming the rescuers
Thursday’s debate in the Civil Liberties (LIBE) committee would have been similarly heated, had there been any representatives of the Greek conservative parties in the room. Incidentally, with the exception of the EPPs, no other right-wing MEPs were present, which resulted in a pretty one-sided discussion about the alleged crimes of the Greek authorities.
Indeed, after the Commission’s and Frontex’s presentation of the situation, leftist MEPs took turns accusing the conservative Greek government and the Hellenic Coast Guard of deliberate inaction during the rescue operation—maybe because of not wanting to take care of survivors, as the representative of FRA suggested—even though Greece dispatched nine rescue vessels and two helicopters as soon as the Frontex drone spotted the migrant ship.
Regardless, the leftist parties in the European Parliament joined with FRA to demand an investigation that’s independent of the one that is currently going on at the national level.
“What exactly makes the Commission think that Greek authorities can be trusted with investigating their own Coast Guard?” the liberal Renew’s Sophie in ‘t Veld asked Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson rather frantically at one point, even though the commissioner explained just minutes before that the matter strictly belongs to national jurisdiction.
“The Commission does not have the competence to investigate at the national level,” Johansson tried to remind everyone, adding that “we must trust the local authorities.” She noted that there are a lot of speculations in the media about the alleged negligence of the Hellenic Coast Guard, but nothing has been confirmed yet, so everyone should calm their nerves.
Which, of course, they didn’t, and continued to present rumors as facts. “The Greek authorities lied about what happened and what they did,” Greens MEP Tineke Strik chipped in, adding that Athens is even actively hindering rescue NGOs from doing their job—the same accusation that is being made against Rome.
The Left’s Cornelia Ernst went even further. “The [Hellenic] Coast Guard destroys evidence and falsifies survivors’ statements,” she claimed. “If the Greeks are investigating themselves, how can it be an impartial investigation?”
Somehow, Commissioner Johansson managed to keep her composure and answer calmly, saying again, that the EU does not possess the power to take over the Greek maritime court’s job, but it does everything it can to help the investigation.
Besides, as she kept reminding everyone, the actual crime here is the one of the human smugglers who exploit migrants and force them onto deadly journeys. Therefore, she said, the EU is addressing the core problem of human trafficking by creating new partnerships with transit countries (such as Tunisia, Egypt, or Libya) and even countries of origin (like Pakistan and Bangladesh) to promote new, legal pathways to Europe.
The debate was cut short after two conservatives dared to chip in. “I’d like to thank the Left in this room who actually help migrants embark on this journey,” the French MEP Nadine Morano from the EPP said, arguing that the EU’s responsibility should start at addressing the root of the problem and preventing illegal migration altogether.
The sentiment was also shared by the independent Slovak MEP Milan Uhrík. “This tragedy is evidence that we should stop illegal migration and not support it,” he said. Then, Uhrík began to point out other apparent failures of the European migration policy, such as the recent riots in France. The room promptly erupted in shouts—a clear sign of leftist tolerance, mind you—until the chair reminded everyone that parliamentarians are supposed to behave.
What about Libya?
The next segment of the committee meeting was focusing on the EU’s cooperation with Libya to reduce illegal migration and combat human traffickers. Before the debate, however, the room was presented with the results of a recently concluded UN fact-finding mission by Chaloka Beyani, a member of the organization’s Expert Advisory Group on Internal Displacement.
According to Beyani, the UN mission conducted 400 interviews, collecting over 2000 items of information across Libya, and based on the uncovered evidence, established that third-country migrants are frequently subjected to crimes against humanity, such as rape, torture, and systemic enslavement, including both sexual slavery and forced labor.
What’s more, these crimes happen not only during the transit by human smugglers, but also in detention centers “under the nominal control” of local authorities, on territories controlled by rebel militias and the central government alike. Human trafficking only exacerbates the problem, Beyani noted, and the smugglers and slavers often work together to maximize profits.
Therefore, the question is “how do we address migration in a country of relative chaos,” Johannes Luchner, the EU’s Deputy Director-General for Migration and Home Affairs asked, pointing out that the lack of central leadership in Libya doesn’t mean that the EU should give up talks, because migration through the country is expected to massively increase in the near future.
To manage the influx, the EU is investing millions in cooperating with local authorities on migrant protection and border management, as well as search and rescue operations and fighting the illegal smuggling network that has been “growing exponentially over the last years,” Henrike Trautmann, the Director-General for Neighborhood and Enlargement said.
Both representatives of the Commission agreed that the solution lies in stabilizing the country itself by funding systemic reforms, which is a long and resource-heavy process, but worth pursuing because focusing on migration alone will not have any lasting effects.
The leftist MEPs, however, saw it quite differently. “The conclusions are clear: EU money prevents migrants from escaping their perpetrators who subject them to crimes against humanity,” the Greens’ Strik declared once the floor was open.
“Libya is a failed state, so who are you actually working with?” echoed Cornelia Ernst, arguing that the EU cannot let migrants wait for their asylum in Libya and there’s no point in investing in the country either.
“We only work through trusted partners,” Trautmann replied. “But it’s also true that those trusted partners work through local authorities, which can be challenging.” She added that the EU is monitoring the use of funds closely, works together with Libyan Coast Guard on rescue operations, and does everything to make sure that its own asylum centers are safe.
Luchner was not as patient as his colleague, snapping at the MEPs: “The impression is that, somehow, all we are interested in is keeping people in Libya. I assure that’s not the case,” he said, explaining that the EU has facilitated the voluntary return of over 50,000 migrants to their home countries so far, as well as helped relocate thousands to Niger and Rwanda, from where they are either resettled into Europe or return to their home countries after given vocational training by the EU. All while trying to make life easier for those who want to stay in Libya.
The only thing everyone agreed on was that Libya is a mess. Gaddafi’s prophetic warning that his removal would open the floodgates of human trafficking, terrorism, and crime comes to mind, but whatever the reason, the problem persists. For once, the Commission seems to be right. Only stabilizing the country works as a long-term solution, because shipping everyone to the EU as the Left would want would only encourage smugglers and migrants alike to participate in a never-ending cycle of suffering.
