EC backs military operation against human traffickers in Mediterranean

The European Commission (EC) announced on Tuesday its support for a military campaign, on the lines of the counter-piracy operation in the Indian Ocean, to capture the vessels of human traffickers in the Mediterranean Sea.

The announcement was made following a major tragedy in the Mediterranean Sea last week when a boat sank off the Italian island of Lampedusa killing hundreds of migrants who were on their way to Europe in search of a better life, Spanish news agency Efe reported.

European foreign and interior ministers, at a joint meeting in Luxembourg on Monday, presented a 10-point plan on the immediate actions to be taken in response to the migrant crisis after a series of shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea.

The plan includes exerting a systematic effort to capture and destroy the boats used for smuggling illegal migrants.

It would be a civil and military operation, EC spokesperson Natasha Bertaud said during a press conference on Tuesday.

Bertaud explained that the European Union (EU) countries should opt to launch the operation, and that the EC's role would be limited to expressing political support.

She noted that the European Leaders Summit on Thursday would be a good chance to get the necessary political support to proceed with the plan.