In the Mediterranean, a political hiatus
(BRUSSELS2) Whatever may be said, interventions on the high seas require means that only the navies have. We need, in fact, ships capable of facing, and above all of holding out against the high seas. We also need ships capable of collecting refugees in large quantities, personnel to care for them, feed them, maintain order if necessary, even firing, if there is an attempt at confrontation. At the technical and operational level, only military ships are capable of doing this. But when we talk about picking up refugees at sea, these are “civilian” objectives carried out by a civilian institution (European Commission).
The hiatus...
Europe has not organized itself to deal with external threats other than by the classic procedures of an international organization: sanctions, legislation, retaliatory measures. And, if it does, it thinks primarily in civilian, not military, ways. This is generally the case in operations carried out by the European Border Surveillance Agency (Frontex). However, in any case, for an operation carried out in the Mediterranean, such as Operation Mare Nostrum, only military means can be used. This is the hiatus of European action designed for civil action and reluctant to encompass military action.
