On Tuesday, Libyan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Najla Al-Mangoush received the keys to the first patrol ship funded by Italy’s Visegrad Group. The ship is designed to curb people smuggling and patrol the Mediterranean shore.
On his part, the European Commissioner for Neighbourhood policy and enlargement, Oliver Varhelyi said that the 20-meter ship, able to carry 200 people, was the first to be fully funded by Czechia, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia. The Visegrad Group pledged in 2017 to deliver four ships to Libyan Coast Guard.
The ships will help to “curb illegal migration across the sea, and to block a route which people smugglers and criminal organisations use to enrich themselves,” he said.
Italian Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani, who also attended the event, said Libya was a key starting point for illegal migrants in Europe.
The European Union and Italy also support the project, in which Libya will have a further two ships built by year-end and will receive two used ones. Italy has trained the Libyan Coast Guard, and will oversee the maintenance of the ships.
In December, Tajani said that Rome was looking to provide police patrol boats to the Libyan Coast Guard, to stop human smugglers.
He pointed out that Italy “had always been ready to receive migrants, but it must guarantee the security of its borders, which are also the southern borders of the European Union.”
Tajani reiterated the need for agreements between European countries, and those from which boats depart. In order to solve the migration problem, through a long-term strategy.
“When there are nearly three billion people in Africa in 2050, if there is no strong action, there will be more and more people leaving the continent to come north,” he said.
“The stability of the Middle East means reducing migratory flows across the Balkans. We have posed these issues with great firmness, but with a view to finding solutions. We have started a debate, we hope to be able to reach the right conclusion in the coming weeks and months,” Tajani added.
Italy and Greece remain the two main points of entry for migrants crossing the Mediterranean to Europe.
