UN chief says EU boat-sinking plan won't work

UN head Ban Ki Moon has criticised EU plans to destroy migrant-smugglers’ boats, while urging Europe to take in more people.

The South Korean diplomat told press in Brussels on Wednesday (27 May) that sinking boats will deprive local communities in north Africa of ways to earn a living.

“When you consider destroying these boats, it may end up eventually depriving the very limited means of those people, even if those boats are sometimes used to smuggle people in criminal acts”, he said.

“I believe the military option has some limited, limited effectiveness”, he added.

“I am concerned that destroying these vessels has some other implications”.

He noted the military mission will need either UN Security Council (UNSC) approval or “permission from the countries concerned, in this case Libya”.

The UN chief instead urged EU states to take in more refugees, asylum seekers, and economic migrants.

He said the EU should “explore legal alternatives to such dangerous journeys”, listing refugee resettlement, work and study visas, and family reunification schemes.

He “welcomed” a European Commission proposal, published earlier the same day, to redistribute 40,000 asylum seekers from Greece and Italy inside the EU, calling it a “step in the right direction”, which “must have been subject to intense discussion and consultation by EU leaders”.

Speaking later on Wednesday at the European Parliament, he noted that about “half” of Mediterranean boat migrants are fleeing war, persecution, or human rights abuses and "qualify for international protection”.

He urged the EU to show “compassion” and “collective ... responsibility”, but also said that, given its ageing population, “to maintain its economic dynamism, Europe needs migrants”.

He added that he recently met a nine-year old Syrian girl in Ireland who had been resettled after witnessing “atrocities” in her home town.

“She explained to me her dreams and I encouraged her not to despair … it was one of the most moving, most touching moments for me.”

The UN head’s discouragement of EUnavfor Med, the naval project, follows similar swipes by leading NGOs and migration experts.

The EU’s own internal analysis, leaked to media in the past two weeks, also highlights pitfalls.

One paper, drawn up by the EU’s military committee, says there’s “a risk to EU reputation” if “loss of life be attributed … to action or inaction by the EU force”.

It notes that military action inside Libya, as envisaged, risks “destabilising the political process by causing collateral damage, [and] disrupting legitimate economic activity”.

An earlier paper, drawn up by the EU foreign service, warns "of collateral damage including the loss of life [of migrants]”.

The EU plans to launch EUnavfor Med by July.

The commission’s asylum seeker relocation plan won’t involve the UK, which used its EU opt-out perk.

Several other countries, including France, Poland, the Baltic states, and Hungary, have also said they reject what they call EU-imposed “quotas”.

"The commission went beyond the agreement to stick to voluntary contributions, as was agreed in the extraordinary Council", a senior source from a Baltic state told EUobserver, referring to a recent EU summit on migration.

"It's a dishonest effort to impose an article in the [EU] Treaty that was never applied before. It equals arm-twisting and a challenge to the considered opinion of the Council".