Continuously spooked by migrant arrivals from Libya, the European Commission is now seeking to further reinforce frontier borders with regimes throughout much of north Africa.
In a letter addressed to national capitals ahead of Thursday’s (18 June) EU summit in Brussels, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen cites Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia as among the countries it wants to either continue to support and – in some cases – further reinforce.
“This year we will prioritise border management, search-and-rescue capacities notably towards Libya, while continuing protection efforts,” said von der Leyen of Egypt, in the letter dated Tuesday (16 June).
Last year until October, more than 65,000 migrants departed from Libya and irregularly arrived in the EU.
But Frontex, the EU’s border force, says overall arrivals have dropped by some 40 percent in the first five months of this year.
