Greek Minister of Migration, Dimitris Kairidis, has called on the European Union to resume its “Sophia” operation. This aims to stop the flow of illegal immigrants before they leave the Libyan coast, which is a major crossing point for migrants seeking to reach Europe.
This comes as Athens faces accusations of neglect, following the sinking of a wooden fishing boat, that had set off from Libya, resulting in the deaths of at least 500 migrants. Survivors revealed that the Greek Coast Guard tried to tow the boat, causing it to capsize and eventually sink.
“We support the launch of an ‘Operation Sophia-plus’ to break up migrant smuggling routes from Libya,” Kairidis told the American magazine “Politico” on Saturday. This came during his first visit to Brussels, where he met EU Home Affairs Commissioner, Ylva Johansson.
Keridis stressed that “the solution is simply for the European Union to resume the Sophia operation, which aims to dismantle smuggling networks along migration routes in the Mediterranean Sea, and which was officially halted in 2020.”
“EU ships can be stationed in Libyan territorial waters, in agreement with the government there, which I hope will agree to the proposal,” he said
The EU has not settled on how it should respond to the Adriana shipwreck. On Thursday, the European Parliament backed a non-binding resolution urging the EU to establish a Europe-wide search-and-rescue operation for migrants. But some diplomats fear this would only encourage migrant departures from North Africa, and feed the business model of human traffickers.
Johansson declined to endorse this approach, during a tense hearing on Wednesday.
The Greek proposal is slightly different, essentially aiming to block boats from leaving in the first place, and breaking up smuggling routes through the Mediterranean in the process. But critics point out that Libya has traditionally been reluctant to let EU vessels enter its territorial waters for such efforts, and that its detention centers violate migrants’ rights.
Kairidis also defended the Greek Coast Guard against criticism that it ignored multiple offers of help from the EU border agency, Frontex.