Frontex launches an operation in the central Mediterranean, named Thémis
(B2) The European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) has just launched a new operation in the central Mediterranean to help Italy with border control activities.
An operation focused on rescue but also respect for the law
Called Themis, this operation starts on February 1. It replaces Operation Triton, launched in 2014. Operation Themis will continue to include search and rescue. Missions carried out under the coordination of different maritime rescue coordination centers responsible ". But the new operation will also have a stronger focus on law enforcement. Its operational area will extend over the central Mediterranean Sea in the waters covering the flows coming from Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Turkey and Albania. NB: the area of operation is therefore wider than that of Operation Sophia, since it also covers the eastern flank (Egypt, Turkey) and the western flank (Algeria) and the Adriatic.
Presence in hotspots
As part of this operation, Frontex will also continue its presence in hotspots in Italy, where officers deployed by the agency will assist national authorities in registering migrants, including taking their fingerprints and confirming their nationality.
Intelligence gathering
The security component of Operation Themis will also include intelligence gathering and other measures to detect foreign fighters and other terrorist threats at the external borders.
The fight against criminal groups
For the director of Frontex Fabrice Leggeri, who are " We need to be better equipped to prevent criminal groups trying to enter the EU undetected. This is crucial for the internal security of the European Union”. Operation Themis will target “to better reflect changing migration patterns, as well as cross-border crime. Frontex will also help Italy track down criminal activity, such as drug smuggling across the Adriatic ».
Comment: Two operations on the same area with some identical tasks
This operation resembles on a large part, both in the geographical area and in some of its missions, the military operation launched by the European Union, EUNAVFOR Med / Sophia. While some of the missions assigned are very different - drugs and terrorism for Themis/Triton and compliance with the arms embargo for Sophia, the fact remains that the fields of the two European operations overlap, in particular on the fight against migrant networks. One can therefore wonder how intra-European coordination will take place.
No word is specified on this point in the official communication of Frontex. It is not very serious for two operations which depend on the same European authority. It's not automatically a good sign when you know the background. Setting up Operation Sophia had not been a 'long calm river'. The co-location of the two operational command centers had notably given rise to a small ford-war of services between the "interior" services (customs, coast guard) and the navy, each wanting to maintain its autonomy. Which had ended up happening.
(Nicolas Gros-Verheyde)
