EU split over naval mission amid Libya arms embargo concerns

A number of European Union countries are blocking a decision to resume a naval operation in the Mediterranean Sea over concerns that it might encourage migrants to set out from the Libyan coast in search of better lives in Europe, the EU's top diplomat said Monday.

The naval mission, Operation Sophia, was launched in 2015 amid a wave of irregular migration from North Africa to Europe. The aim was to crack down on migrant smugglers and enforce a U.N. arms embargo on Libya.

But tension over how to distribute migrants picked up in the sea among EU member states, and claims that the naval presence might encourage smugglers, led Italy to block the deployment of further ships last year.

It currently functions almost exclusively using aircraft and pilot-less drones. Austria too is opposing the return of warships.

"There are people who believe that more assessment has to be done to be sure that it's not going to produce a pull effect, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told reporters in Brussels as he arrived to chair a meeting of the bloc's foreign ministers.

"My analysis of the figures, the data, I am not convinced of that. But some believe it," Borrell said.

He did not name the countries concerned, but he cast doubt over whether the issue would be resolved this month, despite increasing international calls for help in ensuring that the arms embargo on Libya is respected.

Libya has been in turmoil since 2011, when a civil war toppled long-time dictator Moammar Gadhafi, who was later killed. The arms embargo is routinely flouted.

A weak UN-recognised administration that now holds the capital of Tripoli and parts of the country's west is backed by Turkey, which recently sent thousands of soldiers to Libya, and to a lesser degree Qatar and Italy, as well as local militias.

On the other side is a rival government in the east that supports self-styled General Khalifa Hifter, whose forces launched an offensive to capture Tripoli last April.

They are backed by the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, France and Russia.

Borrell said the situation on the ground is very, very bad. Ahead of Monday's talks, Borrell's services circulated a memo suggesting that Sophia should be renamed Operation EU Active Surveillance.

It urged member countries to agree on whether gathering information on, and upholding, the U.N. embargo should become the naval mission's core task. Monitoring people smuggling would be relegated to a supporting task carried out from the air.

The memo warned that we run the risk that, short of concrete action, the EU will become irrelevant and others will continue to determine the development of events in Libya in ways that will not respond to our interests."